My NekoFreak Mistress!
by MidnightAnimeAngel
Summary: Sasuke chalenges Orochimaru to a battle and LOSES? Now Orochimaru has a new apprentice that is better than Sasuke was- and she's a girl! What happens when Orochimaru gives Sasuke to the girl as a slave! And this girl has a mission of her own. SasuxOC
1. Meet Tsukiyo!

"Here's your supper Sasuke." Kabuto grinned cruelly as he set down a bowl filled with some unrecognizable substance in front of the glaring fifteen-year-old Uchiha before him.

Sasuke gave a deep-throated growl and would have lunged at Kabuto if it hadn't been for the fact that he was chained to the wall.

Kabuto chuckled. "Well look at Orochimaru's favorite apprentice now." He jeered.

"I guess you're back to being the favorite now eh?" Sasuke spat.

Kabuto's smirk disappeared and his expression darkened considerably. "Unfortunately not. No Orochimaru has found another he considers more worthy to be his apprentice and future vessel."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to smirk. "Oh? Who did he find this time?"

Kabuto shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't met her yet."

"Her?" Sasuke's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow, he's getting kinda desperate huh?"

Kabuto glared at him. "Shut up! You're in no position to be talking!" His derisive smirk reappeared. "Enjoy your meal… prisoner."

He laughed and walked out of the cell, letting the door slam with a resounding _bang!_

Sasuke clenched his fists and strained for the ten thousandth time against his bonds, but to no avail. How had things gone so wrong?

Just one week ago he had been the apprentice to Lord Orochimaru, one of the most feared men in the land. He had received choice instruction and specified training and had been highly respected and second in command to only Orochimaru himself.

Then he had made his big mistake. He had decided that he had learned everything that he could from the snake-man and had turned on his master, challenging him to a life or death battle to which Orochimaru had accepted.

Sasuke soon realized that he had grossly misjudged his master's strength and skill while overestimating his own.

Orochimaru had easily triumphed over his brash, young apprentice. But instead of fighting to the death, Orochimaru had knocked him unconscious and had him imprisoned in the dungeon.

Sasuke really had no clue why the brute had not killed him and he had even less of an idea of what Orochimaru could possibly have planned for him. But, knowing the snake-man, it was bound to be ugly.

Sasuke frowned. If only he hadn't been so extremely overconfident. Of course he had always been that way, but he had really believed that he could defeat his master. He now realized that Orochimaru must have suspected his treacherous plans for some time and had disguised his true skill so masterfully, that Sasuke had never guessed how great his master's abilities really were.

Sasuke sighed. Well, there was nothing to do now but sit back and wait, while trying to choke down the horrid, sickening stuff that Kabuto had christened his '_supper_'.

* * *

Three days later, Sasuke's eyes snapped open as the prison door swung open and letting in a beam of bright sunlight. Temporarily blinded by the intensity of the light, it was a few moments's before Sasuke could look at the men standing in the door. It proved to be Kabuto and a fellow sound nin.

Sasuke glared fiercely at them. Kabuto smirked and snapped his fingers. The other sound nin stepped forward and unlocked Sasuke from the wall. Then, with Kabuto's help, he attached shackles to Sasuke's wrists and ankles, and locked a thick, iron ring around Sasuke's neck and then attached a heavy chain to the ring, creating a sort of "leash and collar" effect.

Sasuke seethed, but remained silent. He had attempted to fight Kabuto the day before only to have the gray haired boy use a nerve attack on him, causing him to writhe in agony for several hours before the effects of the jutsu finally wore off.

Still, even with that memory fresh in his mind, Sasuke found it tremendously difficult to come quietly when Kabuto gave his "leash" a sharp jerk. He bit down hard on his tongue and willed himself to keep silent.

He followed Kabuto and the other sound nin out of the dungeon and through the main house to the armory in which Sasuke had trained with Orochimaru many times.

Sasuke glared at Kabuto's back as the boy gave another sharp yank on his leash. Once inside they halted and Kabuto handed the leash over to the other sound nin before advancing into the fighting area. Sasuke could hear the sounds of someone training.

He growled and glanced down only then noticing what a terrible state he was in. his clothing was torn and bloody from his fight with Orochimaru and the dungeon floor on which he had been laying for the past ten days was anything but sanitary.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. What did that disgusting snake want with him?

Before he had any further time to reflect, Sasuke heard the snake's voice. "Weeeeel, hello Sssssassssuke." He hissed.

Sasuke grit his teeth and remained silent, not daring to raise his eyes.

"Have you been enjoying your new position as my prisoner?" The brute was obviously enjoying Sasuke's predicament.

"Oh, where are my manners? You haven't met my new apprentice yet, have you? You've been to… preoccupied." Sasuke could here the malicious smirk that he knew was playing on the older man's lips. "Allow me to introduce, Tsukiyo."

Sasuke refused to acknowledge the introduction and continued to glare at the floor.

Orochimaru chuckled coldly. "Really Sasuke, you know it's impolite not to respond when you meet someone. Mind you're manners now, or I'll have to order Kabuto to give you another dose of that nerve attack jutsu!"

Sasuke growled but his head lifted and he raised his eyes to meet those of Orochimaru's new apprentice. What he saw made his blood run cold. Next to Orochimaru stood a girl around the same age as himself. Glossy, strait locks deep purple hair obscured one of her eyes. The visible eye was akin to that of a cat and stood starkly against her pale skin. A pair of black, cat ears sat atop her head and two, black, whip-like tails were visible behind her back. Her entire outfit, boots and armbands included, was made of black leather. (A/n: The outfit is perfectly modest.) Her lips, which were super dark red, were set in a hard line. All things considered, she was a rather imposing person. Her eyes- or eye- especially were intimidating and somewhat hypnotic, they were hard to look at and yet, Sasuke found it difficult to look away. And the longer he looked at them the harder it became to tare his gaze away.

_An anthro!_ Sasuke thought as he looked at her. _I didn't think they still existed. _

"I'm sssssure you noticccced that Tsukiyo is an anthro, probably the lassssst of her kind. I must sssssay, she certainly isssss an improvement over you Sssssasssssuke. After all, a real anthro issss better than an Uchiha any day."

Sasuke grit his teeth and looked away.

(A/n: If you didn't already know this, an anthro is a human with animal traits. They are said to have enhanced abilities, far surpassing those of humans.)

Orochimaru turned to the girl. "Tsukiyo, thissss is my former apprenticccce, Uchiha Sssssassssuke. He will be your sssslave from thissss point on."

Sasuke's head snapped up. _**"WHAT?!"**_

Orochimaru glanced over at the enraged Uchiha. "That'ssss right Ssssassssuke. You had your chancccce. You chosssse to throw it away and now you mussst reap the consssssequencessss." He nodded to the sound nin. "Kenji?" The man tossed the end of Sasuke's leash to Orochimaru who turned and handed it to the cat girl. "He's all yours."

The girl nodded and spoke for the first time. "Thank you Lord Orochimaru. Is this the conclusion of today's training?" Her voice was rich and deep, as well as being surprisingly melodic.

Orochimaru nodded. "Yessss. You may go now. Take the boy with you."

Tsukiyo nodded. "_Hai_." She turned and headed down the hall, giving a slight tug on Sasuke's leash as a signal for him to follow.

Sasuke trailed behind her as she made her way down the long, twisting halls, glaring daggers at her back the entire way.

* * *

**Well, this was an idea I had the other night and I decided to see how it went. **

**Review and let me know what you think. (No flames please.) **

**I hope everyone liked it. I'll try to update as soon as possible.**

**Later.**

**~MidnightAnimeAngel**


	2. The Seal

They wound through several hallways and up four sets of stairs. _Where the heck is her room? _Sasuke wondered. He realized with surprise that they were heading for the tower. _There are tons of empty rooms all throughout the house. Why would she have the tower of all places?_

Tsukiyo finally halted and inserted a key into the lock of a massive, old, oaken door. It swung open and she stepped inside with Sasuke in tow.

Sasuke glanced around with mild interest. He hadn't been in this room before. In fact, he'd never been in the tower before- he'd never had a reason to be there.

The room was dark. That was the best way to describe it. The furniture, the carpet, the walls, they were all dark. Heavy, black draperies covered the large windows at the northern end of the room. Overhead there hung a huge, cast iron chandelier that held dozens of candles. Tsukiyo snapped her fingers and the candles flickered to life. Sasuke realized that they must be in a sitting room of sorts. He could see a door to his left, which he assumed must lead to her bedroom.

Sasuke shivered slightly. The room was freezing!

Tsukiyo led him via his leash, over to a wall, which she attached him to by means of a heavy, iron ring.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he realized that his chain was not long enough to permit him to stand. Thus he was forced to sit, which meant that Tsukiyo was towering over him. Sasuke glanced up to find her scrutinizing him with those hypnotizing eyes of hers. It took all of his will power to tare his eyes away from her intense gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the ground.

Tsukiyo stood over him, studying him in complete silence for several moments. Finally she spoke in her deep, rich voice. "So… you are a member of the Uchiha clan? That must make you Itachi san's little brother."

Sasuke started at the mention of his older brother's name. His eyes flicked up to her face briefly before lowering to glare at the ground once more."

Tsukiyo smirked. "He was right about one thing. You're not the brightest kid around."

Sasuke growled. "What do _you_ know?! And where did you ever meet Itachi? Cat freak!"

Tsukiyo chuckled. "Hn. Honestly Uchiha, is that anyway to speak to your mistress?" She taunted.

"You are NOT my mistress…!" Sasuke spat.

"Really?" Tsukiyo's eyes glinted with amusement. "Your present state asserts the opposite." Sasuke clenched his fists. "And as to your brother, well he and I have met numerous times. According to him you are uncharacteristically weak and not worthy to be called an Uchiha." She smirked. "And by the looks of you I'd say he's right on!"

Sasuke let loose a shriek of rage and lunged at the haughty cat girl, knocking her off her feet. She executed a handspring and landed right behind him, pressing the palm of her hand to the back of his neck. Sasuke felt a blast of white-hot energy shoot down his spinal cord. He suddenly found himself completely paralyzed, unable to even breath!

His eyes widened in fear. Would she kill him? Tsukiyo stood and walked around to the front of Sasuke, her freezing cold hand moved from the back of his neck to rest upon his forehead, but never lost contact with his skin. She lifted the hair out of his eyes and and gazed at him with her one, visible, cat eye.

"Now Uchiha, let's get a couple of things strait, right now. Number one: I am your mistress; I have complete and absolute power over you. I can harm you or even kill you any time it pleases me. I suggest you remember that. And number two: You will treat me with the respect due me. From this point on you will address me as Mistress. Understood?"

Sasuke, still frozen and dizzy from lack of air, could only stare back at her, petrified. She smirked. "I'll take that as a yes." She folded her right hand into a sign and Sasuke unfroze. He fell to the ground gulping air into his oxygen deprived lungs.

A loud knock reverberated off the old oaken door. Tsukiyo rose and, walking over to the door, opened it a crack and peered out. She had a short conversation with someone before stepping back and flinging the door open all the way.

Kabuto entered and motioned in two sound nin, carrying a metal cage. "Where do you want it?" Kabuto inquired. Tsukiyo pointed to the south wall and the sound nin moved to set the cage down.

A grin spread across Kabuto's face as he noted the red faced Uchiha, slumped on the ground with the leash connecting his neck to the wall.

Kabuto turned to Tsukiyo. "He's been causing you trouble eh?"

She shrugged. "He tried, but I explained the situation to him and I think he understands now." She raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "Don't you Uchiha?"

Sasuke glared daggers at her. He wanted to kill her; to rip that haughty expression right off of her face, but he couldn't. "Hai, _Mistress._" He hissed.

Kabuto smirked and gestured to the cage. "Orochimaru Sama said to give this to you for your new slave. He also said to bring Sasuke down to the torture chamber tomorrow and he'd make certain that the he doesn't give you any more trouble." He handed her a silver key.

She nodded. "Give your master my thanks."

Kabuto nodded and left, followed by the two sound nin.

Tsukiyo turned and detached Sasuke's leash from the wall. She gave the leash a sharp jerk, yanking Sasuke to his feet. Using the key Kabuto had given her, she opened the cage door and thrust Sasuke inside with a hard shove that sent him sprawling. Sasuke glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see the cage door slam shut. The key rattled in the lock and Tsukiyo's taunting voice came. "Not so high and mighty now, are you slave?" she smirked. He didn't say anything, but just sat there, glaring at her. Tsukiyo sighed. "Well, I guess I can't blame you too much for being in a bad mood. I suppose I would be too if I were in your predicament. Get a good night sleep. I don't know what Orochimaru had planned for you tomorrow but I'll bet it will be most amusing in my case, and in your case… I'm guessing that it will be somewhere along the lines of "extremely painful"!"

With that she turned and went exited the sitting room by the door, which led to the bedroom.

Sasuke put his hands to his head and massaged his temples. _Ugh! This was supposed to be a foolproof plan. How on earth did I wind up as a slave to a freaky cat-girl?!_

* * *

"Yo! Uchiha!"

Sasuke opened his eyes and raised his head groggily. "Wha?" he mumbled sleepily. What was going on? Who was the purple haired female? What was she doing in his room? Why was she disturbing his sleep? And why did his bed suddenly seem so hard?

Tsukiyo sighed impatiently. "Come on slave, wake up already. Orochimaru is waiting for you down in the torture chamber."

The memory of the previous day hit Sasuke like a mad truck. "He was a slave to the purple haired cat-girl! Well that explained a lot.

"Uchiha!" Tsukiyo snapped irritably. "Do I have to ask Kabuto for a whip? I'm sure he'd get me one." She threatened.

Sasuke glared at her, but picked himself up off of the ground and stepped out of the cage.

She took hold of his leash and yanked on it saying, "Come on!" Sasuke swore under his breath.

He followed her out of the tower and down the twisting halls to Orochimaru's torture chamber.

They entered the dimly lit room and Sasuke glanced around. He had been inside the torture chamber numerous times. But it had always been as a torturer's assistant, never as the victim. Now he saw the room in a new light and realized what all the other countless victims who had entered this room must have felt.

Orochimaru was standing next to an operating table in the middle of the room. "Ah, Tsukiyo. Good to ssssee you my dear. Bring your ssssslave over here."

A chill shot down Sasuke's spine. He felt a tug on his collar and moved numbly to sit on the operating table. It wasn't until the snake-man began to remove Sasuke's already tattered shirt that the boy surfaced from his dazed state. He began to struggle and Orochimaru asked Tsukiyo to paralyze him for a moment. She touched his shoulder and Sasuke froze instantly. Orochimaru and Kabuto quickly strapped him down to the table. Once he was securely fastened down, Tsukiyo deactivated the paralysis. Sasuke watched with wide eyes as Orochimaru took a knife and leaned over him. He bit his lip as the knife made a deep incision in his forehead. As blood flowed freely from the wound, Orochimaru began forming rapid hand signs.

Sasuke felt the cut on his head start to burn. It grew worse and worse, spreading to all parts of his body. The pain increased until Sasuke was screaming in agony. Orochimaru's lips curled into a cruel smile as he watched Sasuke's torment.

Finally, after nearly an hour, the pain began to lessen. Sasuke's screams lowered and he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

Kabuto took a knife and cut through the leather strapps, releasing him from the table. Sasuke rolled off of the table and onto the floor and just lay there for several minutes, too weak to do anything else.

"What was it you did to him?" Tsukiyo inquired to Orochimaru.

"I placccced a ssssspecial sssseal on hissss head. It issss a complicated procedure but, the long and short of it issss, He will no longer have any control over hissss chakura. All of hissss fighting abilitiessss will have dissssappeared, with the exception of hissss Sharingan. Asssside from that, I'm ssssure Sssssassssuke can tell you that the pain alssso sssspread to the resssst of hissss body. I combined the sssseal with a sssstrength-ssssapping agent to weaken him. Even without the usssse of hissss chakura, it would be too dangeroussss for him to remain at hissss regular sssstrength level. Thissss way, he hassss no posssssible way of fighting you or anyone elsssse."

Sasuke touched his forehead and gasped. He could feel the imprint of the seal in his flesh. _**He will no longer have any control over his chakura**__… chakura…chakura… __**His **__**abilities will have disappeared… **__disappeared… disappeared… __**He has no possible way of fighting…**__ fighting… fighting… fighting…_

Orochimaru's words repeated themselves over and over in Sasuke's head. _No!_ Sasuke thought desperately._ If I lose my strength, then I can't defeat Itachi! He can't take away my chakura control… He just can't!_

But he had, and there wasn't a thing that Sasuke could do about it. Heck! He could barely even move! He felt a tug on his leash and looked up to see Tsukiyo holding the end of the chain. Sasuke climbed, unsteadily to his feet. He stood for a moment and the swayed and would have collapsed had Kabuto not reached out and caught him. Sasuke had never felt so weak in his entire life. The room around him was spinning wildly.

"Whoa!" Kabuto exclaimed as Sasuke passed out. "How much did you weaken him?"

Orochimaru grinned maliciously. "Perhapssss a little more than necesssssary, but who caressss?"

Kabuto smirked. "Yeah, I guess." Turning to Tsukiyo he said. "If you want to lead the way, I'll carry him to your room.

She nodded. Her face could have been carved out of a statue. It was impassive and completely void of all emotion with the exception of an indecipherable look in her cat-like eye.

She turned and led the way down the hall and up the winding stairs to the tower…

* * *

**Well? What did everyone think of the second chapter. I know, I'm torturing poor Sasuke. (I sometimes think I can be worse, even than Orochimaru! But I guess that's the trade mark of an author, we all torture characters at one time or another.)**

**Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated. (No flames please.) **

**Oh, and if anyone has an idea for the title of this story, please let me know. I don't like the one it has now but I am at a loss for a better one.**

**Until next time,**

**~MidnightAnimeAngel**


	3. Nightmare of Memories

Tsukiyo sighed and attempted to concentrate on the book she was reading- or was trying to read. _This is ridiculous!_ She told herself. _I've been on the same page for the last forty minutes and I've read the same sentence over twenty-three times!_ Her gaze drifted from the page and came to rest on the raven-haired boy who lay, unconscious, in the metal cage that stood, ten feet from the sofa on which she now reclined. _He should be awake by now._ She thought._ He's been out for over three hours. I wonder how strong that weakening agent that Orochimaru gave him was. It must have been pretty potent to have such a long affect._

As she watched him, the boy suddenly began to stir. He moaned and tossed in the cage. _A nightmare? _Tsukiyo wondered.

She rose and taking the key from her pocket, she unlocked the cage door and went over to the slave's side. His moans increased in volume and beads of perspiration rolled down his face. She knelt next to him and, placing the tips of her forefingers to the Uchiha's temples. Closing her eyes, she concentrated hard. "_Vision Perception no Jutsu_." She whispered.

Suddenly, Sasuke's nightmare appeared before her close eyes, as though it had been etched on the insides of her eyelids. His dream was incredibly vivid and Tsukiyo felt as if she was actually there.

Looking up, she saw a much younger Sasuke standing in a room opposite Itachi. Bodies of his family members lay, strewn across the floor. Fresh blood covered everything and the stench of it was overpowering.

Young Sasuke stood, trembling violently as he gazed open mouthed at his dead family members. The expression on his face reflected disbelief, horror, shock and fear and his eyes held a haunted look.

Itachi stood silently, carefully watching his brother's reaction to the scene that lay around him.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Sasuke raised terror filled eyes to his brother's granite-like face. "Why Itachi?" He asked in a hollow voice. He gazed at his brother as if begging him to tell him that it was all a trick. "Why?"

Itachi sighed and glanced at his sword, dripping with the fresh blood of his clan. "To see what I was capable of." He replied in an emotionless voice.

Sasuke stared at him disbelievingly. Tsukiyo could almost feel his pain. "How could you? They are your family! Oto-san, Okaa-san, our uncles and aunts and cousins... they were a part of you and you destroyed them!"

"Stop complaining. I left you alive didn't I?" Itachi spoke in a cold voice.

Sasuke glared at him. "What? Do you want me to thank you for that?"

Itachi smirked. "No. I wouldn't expect you to. But doesn't really matter, since I don't care about you."

"Oh?" Sasuke challenged. "Then why didn't you kill me?"

"Because, you're so weak it would have been shameful." Itachi replied.

Sasuke gapped at him. "You don't think this" He gestured to the bodies around them, "is shameful?! You've massacred your clan! You are a murderer!"

Itachi shrugged and gazed at him with unfeeling eyes. "Then kill me."

Sasuke's eyes grew wider that Tsukiyo thought was possible. "W-What-t?"

Itachi tossed the blood-coated sword in Sasuke's direction. It landed at Sasuke's feet with a loud clatter. "Kill me." Itachi repeated, his voice impassive. "If you hate me so much for killing them, then grow and train to become strong so that you can avenge the clan. Of course…" He smirked again. "You're so worthless that I doubt you'll ever be strong enough, even to scratch me, let alone kill me."

Sasuke's horrified gaze flicked back and fourth between the bloody sword, lying at his feet, and his brother's freezing eyes.

Itachi spoke up once more. "You weren't strong enough to save them. So kill me by the same sword I used to kill them, that they may be avenged."

Sasuke reached down hesitantly and picked up the sword. A look of determination filled his onyx eyes and the world around him seemed to melt away.

Now, he was older, about the age of twelve. He and a blond boy were trapped inside a cage of ice mirrors with a masked boy. Senbone flew at them from all angles. Sasuke suddenly realized that the masked boy was attacking the blond and threw himself in front of his friend, shielding him from the attack of senbone with his body. Sasuke fell limply against the blond boy. They spoke in low tones, but Tsukiyo's sensitive, cat ears were still able to pick up some of it. "I swore that I wouldn't die until I had killed him, My brother." Sasuke was saying. "I thought the oath would keep me alive. I guess I was wrong…"

The scene within the ice mirrors now melted away and a face that Tsukiyo knew appeared before her. _Orochimaru?!_

"Ssssassssuke hassss the heart of an avenger." The snake man hissed. "Eventually, he will sssseek me out in hissss quest for power."

Orochimaru's face vanished and Tsukiyo found herself inside a large arena. In its' center Sasuke was in the midst of a battle with a young man.

"You're feeding on my Chakura!" Sasuke gasped suddenly.

"Heh. You finally figured it out eh?" his opponent jeered.

Sasuke received several hard blows. Suddenly, he glanced up and his eyes widened as he caught sight of a boy in a green jumpsuit with extremely thick eyebrows.

_That's it!_ Tsukiyo was surprised to find that she could suddenly hear Sasuke's thoughts as well as his words.

"It's time to finish this." Sasuke's opponent exclaimed.

He charged at Sasuke who suddenly executed a maneuver that Tsukiyo had never seen before, appearing underneath his opponent. Suddenly, he halted as scrolling black marks began to spread over his body from the back of his neck. "That's Orochimaru's curse mark!" Tsukiyo exclaimed under her breath.

Sasuke's thoughts echoed in her mind. _The curse mark… it's spreading!_ A look of resolved determination appeared in his eyes._ I'm not just going to sit back and let it consume me!!!!_ Tsukiyo watched as, by sheer willpower, Sasuke suppressed the curse mark forcing it back.

Again the scene changed. Now Sasuke was in a forest battling a strange creature with fiery red hair. Half of it was a boy with pale skin and a slate blue eye. The other half was a sand colored monster with purple veins running through his skin- if it could be called skin, and a black eye with an unusual gold iris.

"You disappoint me Uchiha." The creature rasped. "I guess your hatred is not as strong as you thought, for if it was, you would be stronger than this…"

The creatures face blurred and in its place Itachi's face appeared. He was older now, wearing a black robe with red clouds on it. _The Akatsuki!_ Tsukiyo realized. Sasuke rushed at him, his palm glowing with the blue energy of the Chidori. Itachi effortlessly evaded Sasuke's attack and, grabbing hold of Sasuke's forearm, delivered a punch to the boy's gut and then flung him hard into the wall.

"You haven't changed at all." Itachi jeered. "You're still the weak useless brat that I left behind six years ago!"

The scene changed once again, this time Sasuke was chained to the wall and Tsukiyo saw herself standing over him.

"So… you are a member of the Uchiha clan? That must make you Itachi san's little brother." She was saying.

Sasuke started at the mention of his older brother's name. His eyes flicked up to her face briefly before lowering to glare at the ground once more."

Tsukiyo watched as the past her smirked. "He was right about one thing. You're not the brightest kid around."

Sasuke growled. "What do _you_ know?! And where did you ever meet Itachi? Cat freak!"

The past Tsukiyo chuckled. "Hn. Honestly Uchiha, is that anyway to speak to your mistress?" She taunted.

"You are NOT my mistress…!" Sasuke spat.

"Really? Your present state asserts the opposite." Sasuke clenched his fists. "And as to your brother, well he and I have met numerous times. According to him you are uncharacteristically weak and not worthy to be called an Uchiha." She smirked. "And by the looks of you I'd say he's right on!"

One last time, the scene melted away and Tsukiyo saw that they were in Orochimaru's torture chamber. Kabuto cut through the straps that held Sasuke down and Sasuke rolled limply onto the floor.

Orochimaru's voice was heard. "I placccced a ssssspecial sssseal on hissss head. It issss a complicated procedure but, the long and short of it issss, He will no longer have any control over hissss chakura. All of hissss fighting abilitiessss will have dissssappeared, with the exception of hissss Sharingan. Asssside from that, I'm ssssure Sssssassssuke can tell you that the pain alssso sssspread to the resssst of hissss body. I combined the sssseal with a sssstrength-ssssapping agent to weaken him. Even without the usssse of hissss chakura, it would be too dangeroussss for him to remain at hissss regular sssstrength level. Thissss way, he hassss no posssssible way of fighting you or anyone elsssse."

Sasuke touched his forehead and gasped as he felt the imprint of the seal in his flesh.

_**He will no longer have any control over his chakura**__… chakura…chakura… __**His**__**abilities will have disappeared… **__disappeared… disappeared… __**He has no possible way of fighting…**__ fighting… fighting… fighting…_

Orochimaru's words repeated themselves over and over.

_No!_ Sasuke's desperate thoughts were as clear as if they had been shouted directly at her._ If I lose my strength, then I can't defeat Itachi! He can't take away my chakura control… He just can't! Please no… Please… you can't…noooo…_

The dream faded out and Tsukiyo opened her eyes. She gazed at the boy in front of her in wonder.

As an anthro, Tsukiyo had gone through quite a few hardships herself and, therefore, had hardened herself to any sensitive feelings. However, having just witnessed the Uchiha's past with such acute clarity and vivid accuracy, Tsukiyo could not help feeling a slight prick of remorse for her cruelty to him. He'd been through so much pain already and the future he now faced, only promised more sorrow. Now he'd even lost the thing he had dedicated his entire life to gaining, his ability to fight.

Tsukiyo shook her head. _**What are you thinking?**_ Her inner self scolded. _**You can't get caught up worrying about some slave boy. You have a mission yourself. You have to stay focused. Forget about that boy and concentrate on learning all you can from Orochimaru. Your entire race is counting on you!**_

Tsukiyo nodded. _It's true. I can't afford to get sidetracked now. If I take the time to help him then I won't be able to focus on my real mission. And if I fail this mission, all will be lost! I won't feel sorry for a boy who wound up in this position because he made stupid choices! _

But even as she made this resolve, she felt a twinge of guilt. Shaking her head she pushed it away. "No." She seethed. "I swore that I would never care about or pity a human. It is the Human race that has threatened the Anthro race to the brink of extinction! Humans make foolish errors and then they whine and complain when they have to reap the consequences! They deserve all that they get!"

(A/n: Yes, Tsukiyo has an inner self, but it is different than Sakura's in that Tsukiyo is an anthro and anthro's have split personalities, one being human, the other being animal- in Tsukiyo's case, a cat. Tsukiyo's normal personality is her human side and it possesses the common human emotions; on the other hand, her inner self consists of her animalistic side, which relies on survivalist instinct. Hence, while Tsukiyo's human side feels bad for Sasuke, her feline side is not dictated by such emotions and is only concerned with making certain that she is able to survive. And apparently, Tsukiyo's ability to survive depends wholly on whether or not she is able to succeed in completing her mission.)

* * *

Sasuke came awake to find that he was back inside the cage. _Could it have all been a dream?_ He wondered reaching up to touch his forehead. But no, the seal's imprint was painfully evident.

Sasuke sighed. He felt so tired. _Yikes! How much of that weakening agent did Orochimaru use?!_

"So you're finally awake hmm?" a voice above him asked. Sasuke glanced up through the bars of the cage to see Tsukiyo standing over him. "It's about time. You were out for over three hours!" She spoke in an irritated voice.

Sasuke bit his tongue in an effort to hold back the scathing words that threatened to burst from his mouth. Nonetheless, the enraged look in his eyes spoke volumes.

The two of them remained as still as statues, each glaring daggers at the other.

"I'm going to go train with Orochimaru now." She told him. "Kabuto will be here in a little while and you are to assist him with whatever he needs. Do exactly as he tells you or there will be consequences. Understood?"

Sasuke dropped his eyes in defeat. "Hai."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Hai…?"

He glared up at her. "Hai… _Mistress._"

She nodded. "Good boy Uchiha. You're a fast learner."

Sasuke watched, through eyes burning with hatred as she exited the room. He gave a defeated sigh and lay back down...

* * *

**Hi everyone!**

**What did you guys think of the third chapter? Once again, if you have any ideas for the title, please let me know.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. "Constructive critisism only please.)**

**Untill next time,**

**~MidnightAnimeAngel**


	4. Legend of the Heart Pendant

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys (and girls) rock!**

**Disclaimer: Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto or any of the other origonal Naruto characters, nor do I own the Naruto plot.**

**Claimer: I do own Tsukiyo, Keiji, the Forest Ruler, Daichi, and anything having to do with them.**

* * *

Sasuke was jerked awake once again when the door to his cage clanged open. Glancing up, he saw Kabuto gazing down at him with a gloating expression on his face. "Hello Sasuke, you ready to go?" He picked up Sasuke's leash and gave it a rough jerk that left a substantial burn mark on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke climbed wearily to his feet. He swayed dizzily for a moment before shaking his head to clear it and following Kabuto out of the room.

Kabuto led him down the stairs and into a dark, gymnasium-like room where Sasuke had often trained with Orochimaru in the past. But Orochimaru was not here at the moment and Sasuke wondered why Kabuto was taking him here of all places. Sasuke shot Kabuto a confused look. Kabuto smirked. "I bet you're wondering what we're doing here, no?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed; he did not like the look in Kabuto's eyes. Though it was a look he had seen in his own eyes many times before. The look of someone who wants revenge!

Suddenly, a chuckle rang out from behind Sasuke; it sent shivers up and down the boy's spine. He spun around. "Who's there?"

Out of the shadows stepped several, dark, hooded figures. _What's going on? _Sasuke wondered. He looked over at Kabuto. The white haired boy's smirk had turned into a malicious grin. Sasuke turned back to the advancing figures.

The one in the lead threw back his hood, allowing Sasuke to see his face. "Keiji?" Sasuke breathed. "What are you doing?" Keiji was a sound nin and one of Kabuto's partners. Sasuke had been at odds with him several times in the past and, because he was Orochimaru's favorite, Sasuke had always won. This had caused an even greater tension between the two boys and Keiji had long harbored a bitter resentment and even hatred of the onyx-eyed Uchiha.

"Yo Sasuke _Sama._" Keiji sneered. "Oh, that's right, you're no longer a big shot are you? No, you're a slave to the new girl now aren't ya?" He smirked. "Well, I guess that makes me the master now eh? Funny isn't it how things flip around so that he who was once the master, now becomes the slave?"

There was a chuckle from the group. One by one they removed their hoods and Sasuke saw that they were all friends of Keiji and boys whom he had once been in charge of. They moved forward to surround him.

Sasuke grit his teeth. "What do you want Keiji?"

Keiji's smirk grew. "What do I want? Well, first of all, I want you to address me as Keiji Sama."

Sasuke emitted a low-throated growl. "In your dreams!" He snarled.

Keiji grinned and exchanged glances with Kabuto. "You know, I was kinda hoping you would refuse."

Sasuke shot him a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Keiji took a menacing step towards Sasuke. "Because you refused me, it gives me a reason to punish you for being rebellious."

"Wha-" Sasuke's eyes widened as Keiji grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him hard against stonewall, pinning him there. "I'm gonna beat the crud out of you pretty boy!" He hissed.

_Wham! _Sasuke let out a grunt as Keiji's rock solid fist collided with his abdomen. Sasuke swore silently as he tasted blood in his mouth. _Bam! Bang!_ He received a punch in the jaw and the chest.

Keiji released his viselike grip on Sasuke's shoulder, allowing him to drop to the floor. The familiar mixed emotions of determination and white-hot rage washed over Sasuke. He climbed to his feet and activated his sharingan. "You're a dead man!" He roared and lunged at Keiji only to have Keiji easily sidestep him. The sound nin hurled several shuriken at him. Sasuke's sharingan spotted the rotating blades instantly. _Hah! Those will be a piece of cake to deflect! _He got ready to dodge as the first shuriken hurtled at him. _Ouch!_ Sasuke looked down in shock to see several of the shurken imbedded deeply in his flesh. The rest stuck out of the wall behind him. Sasuke's eyes windened incredulousely. "I was… too slow?" he whispered, stunned.

Kabuto let out a cackle that sounded strangely high to be coming from him. "Sasuke, when Orochimaru said that you had lost all of your chakura connected abilities, he meant _all_ of them. And that includes your speed and agility." He delivered an unexpected and surprisingly powerful blow to Sasukes stomach. Sasuke gasped and doubled over in pain only to have Kabuto deliver several sharp kicks to his gut and ribs. Then Keiji took hold of Sasuke and forced him into a headlock as another boy threw punch after punch at him. The boys, Sasuke thought there were eleven or twelve in all, closed in to form a ring around Sasuke. Keiji released his prisoner from the headlock and flung him into the arms of another boy who delivered several blows before passing him on to the next boy. Sasuke did not know for how long the beatings lasted, but when he passed out, they were still thrashing him mercilessly and gave no sign that they had any intention whatsoever of slowing…

* * *

Tsukiyo stepped into the dark gymnasium. She had come to retrieve the obsidian dagger that she had left behind the day before. Glancing about, she saw it lying on a stone bench and quickly retrieved it. She was about to leave when something caught her eye. In the dim light, she was barely able to make out the figure of someone lying on the cement floor. "Hello?" Whoever it was did not respond. Tsukiyo stepped foreward and nudged the person with her foot, causing him to flip over on his back. She gasped in shock. "Uchiha?!" Sasuke lay, unconscious and covered in blood. "What on earth… What happened?" Tsukiyo whispered. The answer was obvious. He had been attacked! _I'll bet Kabuto had something to do with this! _She thought. She didn't particularly like Kabuto, in fact she found him rather repulsive, but he was on good terms with Orochimaru so she tolerated him. "That rat!" She growled. She had seen such treatment far too often in her lifetime. Anthros were constantly under attack for no reason except that they were different. "He'll not get away with this, I'll go tell Orochimaru!" She said. "_**Oh, of course, and with no proof what makes you think that Orochimaru will punish Kabuto? It will just be your word against his. All you'll be doing is giving Orochimaru a reason to consider you weak. What will he think if he finds out that you are sympathizing with the very boy who tried to deceive and kill him?"**_ Tsukiyo bit her lip. _You're right. I mustn't say anything._ She gazed down at the unconscious slave before her. _But I'm going to do my best to keep Kabuto away from him in the future!_

* * *

Sasuke awoke _again_ to see that he was back in Tsukiyo's tower room. But he was not in his cage. Instead, he was lying on the maroon colored sofa. Sasuke tried to sit up and gasped in pain as his ribs cried out in protest to his movements. Sasuke saw that his wounds had been washed and bandaged. He tried to get up but found himself thwarted by an iron shackled that attached his ankle to the sofa. _I should have known that Tsukiyo would never give me the opportunity to get away._ He thought bitterly.

Without warning, the door to the bedroom swung open and Tsukiyo stepped in. Their eyes locked but Sasuke quickly looked away. He despised this girl with a passion and getting into a staring contest with her would only increase that dislike as she was bound to win. He heard her light footsteps echoing as she approached him.

"So what happened to you after I left?" She asked suddenly.

Sasuke turned away. _It's none of your business!_ He thought fiercely.

"I am your mistress and everything that happens to you is my concern so actually, it is my business." Tsukiyo informed him.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _Did I say that out loud?_ He wondered.

"No." Tsukiyo said.

He glanced up. "Huh?"

"No, you did not say that out loud."

Sasuke gapped at her. "How did…?"

"I posses the ability to tune in to other people's thoughts when it so pleases me." she explained in an offhanded way.

Sasuke didn't know how to respond to this new piece of information. "Oh…" Was all he managed to come up with.

"Now answer me. What happened to you after I left?" She looked at him sharply.

Sasuke glared at her. "Why should I? What do you care what I do Cat freak?!"

Before he could blink, Tsukiyo's hand was around his throat cutting off the airway. Her voice was like a sharpened blade. "I told you already, don't call me that!" She slapped him hard. "And don't back talk me!" It made her furious that he would yell at her when she only wanted to know so that she could help him in the future.

"H-hai!" Sasuke rasped.

She released him and he fell back against the couch gasping. "Now tell me what happened that you ended up unconscious in the gymnasium." She demanded.

Sasuke took a deep breath and nodded. "Kabuto came and got me. He took me down to the gymnasium where he had a bunch of guys waiting. They ordered me to call them master and when I said no… well you can see what their answer was." he looked down at his hands. It was torture for him not to be able to defend himself and to have to submit to a girl who was shorter than him by six inches!

Tsukiyo was silent for several minutes. When she finally spoke she was surprisingly brusque. "I'm tired and it's getting late so I guess it's time I put you back in the cage and went to bed. Tomorrow you will attend me while I'm training. The last thing I need is to have to bandage you all over again! Come on."

She unlocked the shackle that attached him to the sofa and, taking hold of his leash, proceeded to lead him over to the cage and lock him inside.

"See ya in the morning Uchiha."

* * *

Tsukiyo stepped into her bedroom. If Sasuke had thought that the sitting room was dark, I don't know what he would have said about the bedroom. Everything— the walls, the carpeting, the furniture, the bed, the curtains and even the ceiling were black, indigo, or cobalt blue. The only light in the room came from a single candle that flickered on the ebony vanity that sat against the east wall of the room.

Tsukiyo picked up an ivory comb and began to run it through her glossy, purple locks. Glancing up, she caught sight of her reflection in the vanity mirror and paused to scrutinize herself. She sighed.

When she looked at herself, Tsukiyo could almost understand why the humans so hated and feared anthros. Tsukiyo's waist length, purple hair hung long and her visible cat eye glowed in the dark room. Her already pale complexion now appeared to be an almost deathly white against the dreary, black background. Her lips were naturally dark in color, almost a burgundy and her white, fanglike canines stood out starkly against them. She was slightly short for her age, but she exuded an intimidating air that canceled out any weakness that might have entailed. Her fingers were long and claw like, yet dainty and elegant, almost like what one might expect to see on a vampire. Her black nails were deceptively smooth in appearance but could be as sharp as a blade.

Tsukiyo's eyes drifted to the black, ribbon choker, which she wore about her neck, from the strip of dark satin dangled an onyx pendant set in gold in the shape of a heart. The pendant had been a gift to Tsukiyo from her grandfather, an anthro considered to be the greatest of his time. He had told her that the black heart had been passed down through her family through the generations. According to legend, the heart been given to the first anthro by the Forest Ruler, a winged creature with the head of a lion and the body of a gazelle. The Forest Ruler had foretold that the humans would rise up and destroy the animals of the forest. The animals were wise and kindhearted creatures; they could have attacked and wiped out the human race. But they longed to live in harmony with the to legged humans, and to find a way to resolve their differences without massive bloodshed. They chose to make the first anthro, in an attempt to find common ground with the humans on which they could collaborate peaceably.

Unfortunately, this plan went terribly awry, for when the humans learned of the existence of the anthro race, they hated them even more than they hated the creatures of the great forest. The humans had attempted several times through the past centuries to wipe them out. And this time they may have succeeded.

Only Tsukiyo knew that a small band of anthro's still existed deep within the southern part of the forest. The area was over grown with thick vines and briars bearing thorns nearly as long as the blade of a dagger and just as sharp.

Tsukiyo had been born and raised with the fugitive anthros and had become an exceptionally skilled fighter.

On his deathbed, Tsukiyo's grandfather had given her the pendant and made her promise him, not to allow the anthro race to become extinct. The creatures of the great forest had long since moved to other forests and their memories reduced to myths, with the exception of one. The child of the Forest ruler, a creature by the name of Daichi had remained and still lived on in the forest as its protector. However, none had seen it in over a century. (A/n: The forest creatures live several hundred years.) The forest protector would remain there for as long as the anthro race survived. Were he to leave, the great forest would perish. The forest needed the creatures to survive just as the creatures needed it. As long as the anthro race existed, the creatures and the forest still had a chance of surviving, and perhaps living in peace.

Tsukiyo fingered the pendant. The tale said that the pendant held special abilities, but very few could access them. Only one anthro was born in every century that could access the pendant's secret. Once accessed, the onyx heart would supposedly turn to a deep red color.

Tsukiyo bit her lip. "One in a century…" She whispered. "And grandfather believes that I am that one." And now, to make matters worse, there had been several attacks on humans recently and the blame placed on the anthro race, fueling the embers of hatred that still burned brightly. The hostility against the anthros was growing daily. It would not be long before it exploded!

Find a way to access the pendants secret, use its power to defend the anthro race and fight off those who are trying to destroy it, seek out the Forest Protector and see if he can tell you who it is that is continually stirring up problems between the human and anthro races, and finally, find a way to live with in peace the despised human race so that they will not harm the Great Forest or its creatures. This was the mission that she had been given by her grandfather; this was the reason she must not fail.

* * *

**Hey peoples! **

**What did you think of this chapter? Reveiw and let me know. (Constructive critisism only please.)**

**Once again, if anyone has any ideas for the title of this story please let me know. I haven't come up with anything so for now it will remain "A Slave to the New Apprentice" but I don't really care for this title so if you have any suggestions please let me know.**

**Until next time,**

**~MidnightAnimeAngel**


	5. Unwelcome Guests

**Disclaimer: As of this moment, Masashi Kishimoto is still unwilling to sell the Naruto characters and plotline to me.**

**Claimer: And no, I am not willing to sell Tsukiyo and Keiji to anyone either.**

Sasuke stood behind Tsukiyo as she sat at the dining room table finishing her break fast. Kabuto sat across from her and was continually sending Sasuke triumphant glances that the Uchiha was doing his best to ignore.

The door opened suddenly and all three of them glanced up to see Orochimaru enter. "_Ohaio gozaimasu _Orochimaru_ Sama."_ Tsukiyo greeted him.

Orochimaru nodded to her. "_Ohaio gozaimasu _Tsukiyo_ chan. _I will not be training the two of you today," he said. "I'm expecting a visitor today."

"Really?" Kabuto inquired. "Who?"

Orochimaru's eyes flicked momentarily to Sasuke's face before he turned back to Kabuto. "You'll see in a couple of hours."

* * *

Sasuke gave an inaudible sigh. He had been standing in back of Tsukiyo and Orochimaru's chairs for the past two hours. The two of them were in the midst of a game of _Shogi _(chess).

Kabuto was reading some random book and complaining about how boring it was every other second. _If it's so boring then why are you reading it moron?_ Sasuke mentally shouted at him.

A moment later Kabuto opened his mouth to complain again when a cushion from one of the seats hit him full in the face, knocking him off of his chair.

Orochimaru applauded. "Good shot Tsukiyo chan!" He leaned forward and spoke in a lower voice, "and good timing. I was about to punch him through the wall."

Sasuke couldn't help but agree. Kabuto could be incredibly exasperating at times.

Without warning, the doors to the room burst open and in marched four sound nin. "Orochimaru sama, your guests have arrived." The first ninja announced.

Orochimaru turned and whispered something to Tsukiyo who nodded. Turning to the sound nin, He said, "Very good, show them in, and one of you take the Uchiha up to Tsukiyo chan's apartment and lock him in the cage."

The sound nin bowed and one of them moved forward to roughly take hold of Sasuke's arm and forcefully lead him out of the room.

* * *

Sasuke was sulking in the corner of his cage when the door opened and in stepped Keiji. Sasuke tensed instantly at the sight of him. Keiji chuckled. "Relax." He said. "I'm not here to hurt you this time. Orochimaru sama sent me to escort you down to the dining room for dinner."

Sasuke stood up. "The dining room?" he repeated. He hadn't eaten in the dining room since he had become a prisoner/slave.

Keiji shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm just following orders." He opened the cage, allowing Sasuke to step out.

Sasuke began to head for the door but Keiji grabbed hold of his arm, halting him in his tracks. "Not so fast Uchiha." He held up a thick chain. "You're not quite ready yet."

* * *

Tsukiyo sat at the dining room table in between a red haired man by the name of Sasori, and a large man with blue skin who called himself Kisame.

Across from her was an empty chair, the chair that Sasuke would sit in as soon as he arrived, and in the chair beside it sat a man whose features greatly resembled Sasuke's. His black robe with scarlet clouds was Identical to those of Sasori and Kisame. This man was Tsukiyo's slave's sworn enemy— yes, this was Uchiha Itachi!

Tsukiyo had met him several times before. They were acquaintances, neither friends nor enemies, simply two people who respected one another's reputation and abilities and who had, in the past, formed temporary alliances when needed. Now, they were about to form another alliance, this time to be shared by Orochimaru.

Tsukiyo's eyes flicked towards the door. _How will Sasuke react to this unexpected surprise?_ She wondered.

_**Who cares?**_ Her inner self snapped. _**Would you stop worrying about that worthless brat and focus on your mission so that we can unlock the pendant some time before we die?!**_

Gee, you're kind of edgy tonight aren't you?

_**Shut up!**_

Tsukiyo smirked. Though it could be annoying it was also rather amusing when her split personalities started arguing.

The door at the end of the dinning hall squeaked open, causing Tsukiyo's mind to surface from the drama of her inner squabbles. Glancing up she saw Keiji enter holding the end of a thick chain. The sound nin gave a rough yank on the chain and Sasuke stumbled into the room. The boy was clad in heavy chains. They intertwined about his arms and legs and encircled his waist and chest; he wore thick shackles on his wrists and ankles.

Sasuke regained his balance and glared daggers at Keiji before turning his attention to the people seated at the table. It was then that he noticed the new guests. He went rigid and his onyx eyes flashed with fiery hatred. He clenched his fists, causing his nails to dig into his flesh and his face turned white with rage.

Itachi returned his brother's glare with an unaffected gaze, though his eyes held a glint of amusement and malice.

Tsukiyo bit her lip.

"Sassssuke, how good of you to join ussss!" Orochimaru hissed. "Allow me to introducccce the guessstsssss. Kissssame, Ssssassssori, and…" His lips twisted into a smile. "I'm ssssure you remember your big brother."

Itachi nodded. "Long time no see, Ototo-san."

"I-Itachi." Sasuke's voice was raspy and strained. He was trembling, but Tsukiyo could tell that it was not from fear but from the extreme effort that he was exerting in an attempt to keep from losing all control.

Orochimaru spoke again in a tone of mock courtesy. "Won't you have a sssseat?" he motioned to the empty chair between himself and Itachi.

When Sasuke made no move to sit down, Keiji jerked on the chain, forcing him to take the offered chair.

Keiji then proceeded to attach the end of the chain that he had been holding to the chair, thus, chaining Sasuke to his seat.

Tsukiyo sat across from Sasuke, watching as Orochimaru and Itachi proceeded to torment the boy.

"So how have you been of late?" Itachi inquired as he draped his arm about Sasuke's shoulders.

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut as if in an attempt to block out his present dilemma, and remained silent.

Orochimaru grinned. "Why Ssssassssuke," he said. "Don't be rude. Tell your brother what you've been doing the passsst few dayssss." Sasuke grit his teeth as Orochimaru continued. "Tell him how you tried to challenge me and how you ended up my prisoner. Tell him how you've now been demoted to the position of a slave to Tsukiyo-chan here."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at this new piece of information. "A slave eh?" he smirked. "Well, it's good to see that you finally found your calling Sasuke. I always new you had to be good for something, despite the fact that you were never worth anything as a shinobi!"

Sasuke's eyes shot open. **"Shut up Itachi!"** the words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to think.

_**SLAP!!!!!**_

Orochimaru's hand came in contact with Sasuke's face and the boy went flying, pulling the chair along with him.

Sasuke crashed into the wall and lay there, breathing heavily. Orochimaru stood up and stepped over to where Sasuke lay.

"Sssssassssuke! I am very disssssapointed in your lack of ressssspect. Itachi ssssan is your superior and you will show him the respect he deserves. You will apologize to him and you will address him as Itachi-sama."

Sasuke shook his head. "No." he managed to croak.

Orochimaru grinned evilly. "You will do it Sssssassssuke." He hissed. "Or elssssse you will lose the one thing you have left that marksssss you assss an Uchiha.

Sasuke looked up at him in bewilderment. "Wha…?"

"Your' sharingan Ssssassssuke. I will cut out your eyessss and take away your sharingan." Orochimaru said.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"It'ssss your choiccccce Ssssasssuke, apology or blindnessssss? Which do you choosssse?"

Sasuke bit his lip as his eyes flicked desperately from Itachi to Orochimaru. "Alright." He said finally.

"You'll apologize?" Orochimaru inquired.

"I'll apologize." Sasuke agreed.

Orochimaru yanked Sasuke up by his hair, before throwing him down in front of Itachi. "Go ahead. Beg Itachi ssssan's forgivenesssss."

Sasukes voice shook as he spoke. "I-Itachi sama… I…I…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I beg your forgiveness." The words came out in a rush and Sasuke hung his head.

Itachi smirked. "Apology accepted _slave_."

Orochimaru smiled cruely as an inspiration hit him. "You know… actionsss sssspeak louder than wordssss. Sssssassssuke, I think you should show Itachi sama that you are truly ssssorry."

Sasuke didn't like the look in the snake man's eyes. It made him nervous. "H-How?

Orochimaru looked at Itachi. "Itachi ssssan, how would it ssssuite you if, as a way to atone for his sssssin against you, Ssssassssuke were to sssserve you during the remainder of your visit? Tsukiyo is leaving with Kabuto on a mission tomorrow and will be gone for a few dayssss and I don't think it'ssss good for ssslavessss to be idle."

A smirk appeared on Itachi's face. He turned to look at the horrified expression on Sasuke's face. "Hai, that sounds like a very good idea to me."

Tsukiyo bit her tongue to keep silent. She glanced at Sasuke. The younger Uchiha wore a stricken expression on his face. Tsukiyo shook her head slightly. _He's going to break pretty soon. What more can Orochimaru take from him? What more can he do to torture him?_

"_**Who cares?"**_ Her neko-self (1) asked._** "Forget the worthless slave boy will ya?"**_

_Will you just shut up! _Tsukiyo snapped. _The humans of today may be worthless, but anthros have human blood too._

"Anthros posses the pure blood of virtuous humans, before the human race was contaminated by greed; before they sank to the level of beasts! Your blood and the blood of those humans are about as different as black and white! Honorable humans no longer exist."

But as Tsukiyo studied Sasuke she had to disagree. _No… most of them may be worthless, but I know of one who still possesses at least a trace of decency in his blood…_

* * *

**So... what did you all think of this chapter?**

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed- **

**especially to "Maximum" for the Idea for the name of the story. Thank you!**

**I hope everyone likes it! **

**As always, review and no flames please.**

**~MidnightAnimeAngel**

* * *


	6. Sasuke's Torment

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Naruto characters... Oh come on! you and I both know I don't!**

**Claimer: I do own Tsukiyo and Keiji and if anyone says otherwise, Tsukiyo will paralyse you!**

* * *

"I just don't see how Orochimaru expects us to spy on the Konoha ninja. They all know that I work for him so they'll figure out our purpose instantly…" Kabuto continued to ramble on.

Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. "Kabuto, you forget that it is _I_ who is supposed to spy on them. _You_ are simply to take me to Konoha and be my back up in case of trouble. You will remain in hiding and will not be seen by Konoha shinobi so you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh…" Kabuto fell silent.

"How far are we from Konoha?" Tsukiyo inquired.

"About an hour or so away." Was the reply.

Tsukiyo raised an eyebrow. "Only an hour?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yeah. We made good time." He hesitated. "What is it exactly that you are supposed to be finding out?"

Tsukiyo sighed. "The approximate strength of their shinobi. In particular the vessel of the Kyuubi."

Kabuto looked at her. "You mean Uzumaki Naruto?"

Tsukiyo looked at him pointedly. "You know any other kid who holds the Kyuubi?"

"You know he was Sasuke's when they were younger right?" Kabuto asked.

Tsukiyo's head snapped around. "Really?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yep! Those two were considered some of the top rookies of the Chunin exams."

Tsukiyo thoughtfully processed this piece of information. Hanging out with this "Naruto" kid, might prove to be rather interesting.

* * *

When Sasuke awoke in his cage that morning, Tsukiyo had already left. He sat in the corner of his cell thinking about nothing in particular for about an hour when the door of the sitting room opened and Orochimaru entered.

"Good morning Sssssasssuke. Did you ssssleep well?" The snake man inquired with a sneer.

Sasuke remained silent as Orochimaru took out a key and unlocked to door to his cage. Orochimaru took his leash and roughly pulled him out of the cell. "Come on sssslave." He hissed and proceeded to lead the boy out of the room and down the hallway.

* * *

Orochimaru knocked lightly on the door. It opened and Itachi motioned the inside. "Well, here he issss." Orochimaru said, tossing the leash to Itachi who caught it with a smirk. "Do you want me to have hissss cage brought here?"

Itachi shook his head. "Nah. I won't need it. He won't have a chance at escaping, you can be certain of that."

Orochimaru nodded. "Alright then, I'll ssssee you at dinner." And with that he turned and exited the room.

Itachi locked the door and then turned his attention to his little brother who stood stock still, waiting for whatever was to come next.

"Well this ought to be an amusing next few days." Itachi mused. Sasuke grit his teeth and glared at his older brother.

Itachi stood silently for a moment, studying Sasuke. Then he turned and walked over to an open trunk that stood at the side of the bed. He pulled a bundle out of it and turned to Sasuke. "Come here."

Sasuke stepped over to where Itachi stood. "What?" he came dangerously close to snapping.

Itachi overlooked his attitude and said. "I have something for you."

Sasuke stepped back. "I don't want anything from you Itachi!"

**SMACK! **

Itachi slapped him before he even saw it coming. "You will address me as Itachi _sama_." Itachi ordered. "And this," he began to unwrap the bundle, "is not a gift that you have the choice whether or not to accept it. This is something that you will take because I order you to.

He pulled away the cloth unveiling a device that both surprised and infuriated Sasuke. "A shock collar?! You really think I'm going to wear that thing?!"

Itachi smirked. "No. I _know_ you're going to wear it." He replied simply. Itachi gave Sasuke's leash a hard tug causing the smaller boy to stumble into him. He grabbed hold Sasuke's collar of and had it off in less time than it takes to blink. He then replaced it with the shock collar before giving Sasuke a shove that sent the boy sprawling.

Sasuke hit the floor with an "Ooof!"

Itachi chuckled. "Okaaaaay… let's see how well this collar works." He pressed one of the buttons on the remote control that went to the collar.

ZZZZAAAAP!!!!!

"AAAAAAHHH!" Sasuke screamed in pain. He writhed and thrashed about. Itachi just laughed.

"S-s-st-t-o-p-p! P-p-plea-s-s-se s s-t-to-p-p!" He begged.

"What was that my slave?" Itachi taunted, pressing the button down harder.

"Aaaaaahhh!" As a ninja, Sasuke was accustomed to dealing with pain, but never in his entire life, had he dealt with anything like this. It was intolerable! "Aaaaaahhh!"

Finally Itachi removed his finger from the button and the pain ceased. Sasuke collapsed, gasping, and too weak even to lift his finger.

Itachi smirked and walked over to where he lay. "How do you feel now Sasuke?"

Sasuke was to exhaust to reply.

Itachi's smirk grew. "That's a taste of what you will receive if you disobey me. And if I grow bored of it there's always…" he reached into the trunk again and pulled out a long, lethal looking whip, "…this. So I suggest that you do as I tell you."

Sasuke took a shaky breath and nodded slightly. "H-Hai Itachi sama."

* * *

"Here we are. Konoha." Kabuto announced.

Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. "As if I can't see that." She sighed. "Alright, where is this, Naruto kid anyway?"

"Probably at the Ramen shop." Kabuto said. "According to Sasuke, that's where Naruto spends most of his time."

"Okay then, you find a place to lie low. I'm heading to the Ramen shop."

"But…" Kabuto never got to finish because Tsukiyo walked off without a word.

* * *

Tsukiyo entered the Ramen shop and was crashed smack into someone. She and the other person went sprawling.

"Oh! Sorry about that? You okay?" A male voice asked.

Glancing up, Tsukiyo came face to face with a grinning blond with topaz eyes and strange, whisker marks on his face. The boy wore a fur-trimmed jumpsuit that was the most outrageous shade of orange. He sported Konoha fore head protector.

"Uh… Yeah, I'm fine." Tsukiyo replied after a moment. "Sorry for bumping you."

"Oh, no problem. Hey, you're new here aren't ya?"

Tsukiyo nodded. "Yeah."

The kid grinned and Tsukiyo noticed that he had fangs. _Odd… _She thought. _He reminds me of a Kitsune._ _Could he be part Anthro?_ Allowed, she said, "I'm Tsukiko." Orochimaru had suggested she not use her real name, so she had changed it slightly.

The kid grinned. "Nice to meet you. I'm Naruto!"

Tsukiyo's eyes widened. "Uzumaki Naruto?" She inquired. "You mean, you're the Jinchuuriki of Konoha?"

Naruto nodded. "Believe it!"

Tsukiyo smiled. "It's nice to meet you Naruto." _Bingo!_ She thought.

"Hey! Naruto!" Tsukiyo and Naruto spun around to see a group of kids, all of whom were wearing the Konoha forehead protector.

"What's up Neji?" Naruto asked.

A dark haired boy with the pearly eyes that Tsukiyo knew to be the trademark of the Hyuga clan gestured to them. "We're going to go train. You coming?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure." He looked at Tsukiyo. "Want to come?"

Tsukiyo couldn't believe her luck. _Awesome! At this rate, I'll be able to observe every young ninja in Konoha and get back to the Orochimaru's place in less than three days._ She grinned. "You bet!"

* * *

"Sasuke!" Itachi's voice rang out from the next room.

Sasuke wearily hurried into Itachi's room as fast as possible, but it was rather difficult because of the fact that his ankles were chained together, forcing him to take very small steps so that he was shuffling more than walking.

"Hai?" he inquired.

Crack!

Sasuke found himself lying on the ground with pain shooting up and down his back. he touched his back and felt warm blood streaming from a angry gash. He looked up and saw that Itachi held the whip in his hand and that the tip of it was dripping with fresh blood as well.

"You didn't bow." Itachi told him. "A slave should remember to bow to his master."

Sasuke climbed to his feet.

"Now bow." Itachi ordered.

Sasuke hesitated.

"Bow or else I'll use the whip again." Itachi threatened.

Sasuke glanced nervously at the whip and did as he was ordered.

"Good boy." Itachi smirked. "Now then, what time is it?"

Sasuke sighed. "About two-thirty a.m." he replied.

Itachi nodded and smiled evilly. "You're looking rather tired. I'll have to do something to get you to wake up." He thought a moment. "I think I have it…" He placed his hand under Sasuke's chin and forced the boy to look up at him. "What say we review your memories?"

Sasuke looked at him in confusion.

Suddenly, Itachi's eyes flashed red and Sasuke found himself trapped within Itachi's illusionary world.

"Aaaah! No! Stop!" Sasuke cried out as visions of his parent's death began to flash before his eyes. The old emotions came back with the force of a cyclone, cruelly torturing his already sorely tormented mind. Tears coursed down his cheeks; it was all so real! He could here his mother's hysterical screams and the cries of his cousins. He could see the panic-stricken eyes of his father as Itachi's blade pierced through his heart. He could smell the scent of blood and it made him nauseous.

"Itachi! Stop! **PLEASE!!!!!**" Sasuke screamed. He felt, though he could not see, the lash hit his back.

"It's Itachi _sama_ to you!" Itachi shouted.

"I'm sorry! Please stop Itachi sama!" Sasuke yelped. He couldn't stand the memories that Itachi was showing him. Itachi had chosen the most graphic and horrific memories to recall. Sasuke felt himself loosing control as the ghastly images dangled tauntingly before his eyes, submerging him in an ocean despair and agony. Sasuke felt as though he couldn't breath. He was trembling to badly that he could no longer stand on his own and collapsed to the floor.

Itachi let out a sadistic laugh and deactivated his sharingan. "Oh, Sasuke. You are so pathetic! I can't believe that anyone related to me could be so traumatized by a trivial little allusion!"

Sasuke took a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. _I can't stand this anymore!_ He thought desperately.

* * *

Tsukiyo sat on a stump watching Neji and Lee duke it out. Naruto was sparing with a kid called Kiba not far away.

"Tsukiko?" a voice at Tsukiyo's right spoke up. Her head snapped around. "Hey…Sa…Sa…Sakura! That's your name right?"

The pinket smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Can I sit with you?"

Tsukiyo shrugged. "Sure." She scooted over so that Sakura could sit down. "So… you are the Hokage's apprentice? That must be cool."

Sakura nodded. "Yep. I decided that I was sick of always being the weakest person around." She smiled. "So I started studying with Tsunada."

"Who's team were you on before you started training with the Hokage?" Tsukiyo inquired.

A sad expression came over Sakura's face. "My teammates were Naruto and a kid named Uchiha Sasuke."

Tsukiyo caught herself a split second before she spilled her secret. "Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. He was Konoha's top rookie." She smiled a small, sad smile. "And he was the heart throb of every girl within a fifty mile radius… me included."

"What happened?" Tsukiyo prodded. She was surprised at how curious she was.

Sakura sighed. "Well, he was always one who liked to be alone, but over a while, he and Naruto became friends," she smiled, "though if you had ever asked them, they would have sworn by their lives that they were mortal enemies." He face clouded. "But then we entered the Chunin exams and had a run in with a Ninja by the name of Orochimaru. He left sasuke with a mark that almost killed him. Sasuke had always been after strength and power, but ever since that day, he was obsessed and even consumed by it." She put her hands to her temples. "He abandoned Konoha and ran off to train with Orochimaru. He hasn't been heard from since."

Tsukiyo nodded. "I see. You really liked him didn't you?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah… But it would never have worked. He needs a stronger girl and one that can stand up to him. I never could. I loved him, but I think I was kind of afraid of him too." She shrugged. "I'm over my crush on him, now I'm with Kiba kun. But I still wish I knew what had become of him."

Tsukiyo winced. _Be glad you don't know Sakura._ She thought. Her mind wandered to the raven haired Uchiha back at the hideout. I wonder how he's coping with Itachi…

_I can't stand this anymore!_ Tsukiyo's eyes widened. "Sasuke?" she whispered.

"What?"

Tsukiyo jumped. "Huh? Oh! Nothing Sakura."

Sakura shrugged. "Okay. I was wondering, would you like to come to my place for dinner?"

Tsukiyo smiled. "Sure! Lead the way." She got up and followed the pinket down the street, the two of them chatting merrily all the way. But inside, Tsukiyo couldn't help the nagging anxiety that lingered in the back of her mind.

_That was Sasuke. I know it was. _She frowned. _Something's wrong. I'd better hurry up and get back to headquarters, ASAP! _

* * *

**Me: Aaaaw! Poor Sasuke! I know I'm just torturing him! But as the author it's my privlidge! **

**_Sasuke:_ I'm going to kill you for this!**

**Tsukiyo (Rolls eyes) : You can't.**

**Sasuke: And why not?**

**Me: Because you are a fictional character and besides. If you try, I'll have Itachi use the electric collar again!**

(Itachi enters the room grinning evilly)

**Itachi: Hi!**

**Me & Tsukiyo: Hey Itachi!**

**Sasuke: I'm going to kill you!**

**Tsukiyo: You seem to be saying that an aweful lot lately.**

**Sasuke: Shut up! You're next!**

**Tsukiyo: Right! Good luck with that one! **

**Itachi: Please reveiw so I can get back to torturing the killer over there!**


	7. What happened to Sasuke?

Sasuke lay on the floor next to Itachi's bed, entwined in a net of chains; Itachi didn't take any chances on letting him get away, in fact, he could hardly move. His back burned from the many stripes on it; a result of Itachi's fixation with his whip.

Sasuke found himself unable to grasp the reality that he had been reduced to this. He had set out with a firm goal clearly set in his mind: to kill his brother and avenge his clan, plain and simple. So how had he managed to end up as the slave of the very man he sought to destroy?

He found himself anticipating the return of Tsukiyo. The cat girl may be an aggravating freak who delighted in harassing him, but at least she was tolerable. He would gladly have put up with her taunting to get away from Itachi's abuse. The emotional torment alone had drained him to the point of exhaustion. And that wasn't even mentioning the physical hounding!

Sasuke shook his head. _How long will they continue to put me through this? Will they persist until I break? I can't do this for too much longer…_ he closed his eyes. _I should never have left Konoha. If I had only listened to Naruto and returned with him, then I would never have ended up in this mess! Itachi is just toying with me…but for how much longer? How long will torturing me amuse him? He's bound to grow bored of it before long and if Tsukiyo hasn't returned by the time he does… I know Itachi; he won't think anything of killing me. Most likely, Orochimaru will give him permission. After all, I'm useless to him now._

Sasuke frowned. _But then again, Tsukiyo would probably give Itachi permission as well. She's a lot like I was, she has a goal - what ever it is - and she's bent on accomplishing it, no matter what it takes. And she seems to harbor quite a hostility against humans. She won't care one way or the other what happens to a human like me. I might as well accept it; I'm going to die. All that training and careful planning, it was all for nothing._

Sasuke gave a quiet sigh. _All I wanted was to avenge the murder of my clan. But I don't think I'm going to live long enough to reach that goal. _

* * *

Tsukiyo opened her eyes and squinted as the early morning light temporarily blinded her. Sitting up she took an instantaneous survey of her immediate surroundings. She was lying on a bed in strange room. "Konoha…right." She muttered as she recalled the reason she was in a hotel room and not her own room, back at Orochimaru's.

She lifted her hand and rubbed her eyes, smiling when she caught sight of the bracelet that Sakura had given her the night before. Sakura really was a sweet girl. Hanging out with her, Tsukiyo thought she understood why the ancient forest creatures had wanted to make peace with the humans.

A knock reverberated off the door and she opened it to see Kabuto standing there. "Orochimaru sent a message for me to return to the hideout. You are to finish the mission and return as soon as you are done."

Tsukiyo nodded. "Very well." She closed the door in his face. "Good riddance!" She muttered.

Turning, she caught sight of the clock that rested on the nightstand beside her bed. She groaned and smacked her forehead. "Ugh! I'm late! I was supposed to meet up with Naruto, Sakura and the others this morning for ramen and then we were to head to the training grounds!" She dashed into the bathroom to get ready. She showered, dressed and applied a bit of makeup. Then, forming a sign with one of her hands, she implemented a transfer jutsu and appeared next to Sakura in the ramen shop.

Several exclamations of "Tsukiko!" greeted her arrival.

"Yo!" She greeted them.

"Hey." Sakura smiled. "We were just talking about what we should do today; it's been a little slow lately."

"Oh? Did you decide on anything?" Tsukiyo inquired.

Naruto cut in. "Yep! We're gonna go out to the training grounds and have a little sparring competition. You wanna come?"

Tsukiyo nodded. "Sure."

Naruto grinned. "Awesome! But before we go anywhere, sit down and have some ramen!"

"Oh I'll pass, I don't want to hold you guys up." She started to protest.

"Don't worry about it, we'll wait. You can't spar very well on an empty stomach and ramen's just about the best thing out there, it gives you lots of energy- trust me, I'm an expert on that!"

Tsukiyo exchanged amused glances with Sakura who was shaking her head and trying to hold back a chuckle.

"I see…" Tsukiyo said smilingly. "Well, if you insist."

Naruto grinned and called out to the owner of the shop. "Two more bowls of ramen!"

"More Naruto?" Sakura interjected. "Don't you think you've had enough this morning?"

Naruto shook his head vehemently as a bowl of steaming ramen was set before him. "Nope! There's no such thing as too much ramen!" and he began wolfing down the food before Sakura could make another protest.

* * *

"Okay! Let's pair off!" Neji shouted. "Everyone pick a sparring partner."

Instantly people began to pair off. Naruto, who had paired up with Kiba, glanced at Tsukiyo. "Why don't you spar with Shino, Tsukiko chan?"

Tsukiyo glanced at the aforementioned, a stoic boy wearing a trench coat of sorts with a collar that covered the lower half of his face and glasses, which succeeded in hiding his eyes. He stood, as usual, with his feet apart and his arms crossed over his chest. She knew he was of the Aburame clan and that they dealt with bugs. He was supposed to be a pretty tough guy but not quite the strongest of the group. It was said he was also quite good at strategizing though not as good as Shikamaru.

Tsukiyo nodded. "That's fine with me." she said, agreeing to the prospect of sparing with Shino

Naruto glanced at the Aburame boy. "Shino?"

"Hn…" was the only verbal answer they received, but the said boy gave a slight nod of the head, indicating that he too agreed to the challenge.

"Alright! Let's do it! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm. Tsukiyo flinched. His loud voice bothered her sensitive feline ears.

"Who wants to go first?" Neji asked in a much more serene voice.

Tsukiyo shrugged. "I'll go first if it's okay with my opponent." Everyone glanced at Shino who gave another tiny nod.

"Okay…" Everyone moved away giving the two competitors room. Tenten raised her hand. "Begin!"

However, Neither Shino, no Tsukiyo moved. The two of them just stood stalk still gazing at one another.

"Uh… sometime today you two!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura hushed him. "Be quiet Naruto. Can't you see they're analyzing one anther?"

Surprisingly, Shino was the first to speak. "Shall I begin?"

Tsukiyo nodded. "Be my guest." She invited.

Shino nodded and then charged, his hands rapidly forming signs. Tsukiyo watched closely as a dark cloud shot from his hand and formed a large wall of darkness in front of him. As the odd mass grew closer, Tsukiyo realized that it was not a cloud at all but a veritable tsunami of beetles charging towards her.

"Heh." Tsukiyo smirked and began to form several hand signs. All around her glowing specks appeared. They grew larger and changed shape. Loud screeches filled the air.

"Bats?" Ino whispered.

"Chakra infused bats." Neji affirmed. He had his Byakugan activated and nobody doubted his words.

"They're huge!" Chouji breathed.

And so they were. Each bat had an eight-foot wingspan. The chakra in them allowed them to fly at astonishing speeds. The army of bats swooped forward, diving and swallowing the beetles.

"A vampire feeding frenzy." Kiba commented. "Good thinking on her part."

Sakura nodded. "Hai."

The bats swallowed the beetles and then disappeared.

Shino and Tsukiyo now stood face-to-face once again. "I see I won't be able to use any of my beetles against you." Shino mused aloud.

"When did he become so talkative?" Naruto inquired.

They began a taijutsu fight, each attempting to outmaneuver the other.

In this, Tsukiyo clearly had the advantage; her cat-like movements were graceful and elegant as she evaded Shino's blows. However, she too was having difficulty in landing blows.

"She has amazing agility." Hinata remarked.

"Yes…" Sakura agreed. "She really is- Oh!"

Sakura's sudden outburst was caused by the fact that Tsukiyo had finally landed a hit on Shino's shoulder. Her hand glowed brightly and Shino froze, unable to breath.

"What happened?" Ino inqured.

"From what I can see with my Byakugan, the instant she touches him she sends a shock of chakra and some other energy like chakra that I don't recognize into his body, much the same way the Hyuga gentle fist technique works. But instead of blocking off the points at which the chakra leaves the body, this energy seems to be going right to the abdomen to where the chakra is created and arrests it there." Neji said.

"I see." Sakura said. "Without the chakra, the body cannot function, thus the result is instant paralysis!"

Neji nodded. "Hai. It is a good technique."

Tenten smiled. "Winner: Tsukiko!"

Tsukiyo released Shino.

He looked at her. "Good spar." He congratulated.

Tsukiyo nodded. "You too."

The two of them walked over to the sidelines as Ino and Sakura walked out into the center to begin their spar…

An hour or so later, during Lee's spar with Neji, Tsukiyo suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding wash over her. Instinctively, she knew that something was wrong with the Uchiha, her advanced, cat-like senses gave her a strong intuition for these kinds of things.

Tsukiyo glanced about her. Everyone's attention was focused on the two contenders who were currently struggling in the center of the field._ I could slip away for a half hour or so and no one would notice…_ She thought. Something's is going on back at Orochimaru's hide out and I intend to find out what!

_**You want to teleport us to Orochimaru's place?!**_ _**That's a long ways away, it will take a lot of chakra to make it there and back.**_

_I'll manage!_ Tsukiyo thought decidedly. Glancing about furtively, she slipped quietly out of sight. Forming twelve signs, she whispered a few words and the wind around her picked up to form a whirlwind. The small, tornado-like windstorm whisked her out of Konoha. When it finally died down, she found herself in one of the many rooms of Orochimaru's manor. Tsukiyo realized that she was in the sitting room of the suite that Orochimaru had given to Itachi for the duration of his stay.

Silent as a shadow, she made her way over to the door which she knew led to the bedroom and quietly opened it just enough to slip inside.

The room was dark, though not as dark as Tsukiyo's own suite and was colored, mostly in dark red with black accessories. _Fitting for an Akatsuki member I suppose…_ she mused silently._ After all… "Akatsuki" can be translated: "RedMoon"._

Tsukiyo took a step forward then halted in surprise as she realized that she had just stepped into a small puddle of blood. _What the…?_ Glancing around she suddenly became conscious of the fact that there was blood spattered over nearly everything in the room; she simply had failed to notice it at first on account of the dim lighting and the fact that the walls were painted the same color as the blood so that it didn't really stand out.

Tsukiyo frowned. The fact that there was blood in Itachi's room did not surprise her, but whose blood was it?

Tsukiyo abruptly became aware of the sound of someone breathing; she was not alone. The sound seemed to be originating from the other side of the room. She silently made her way forward and peeked around the side of the bed. _Uchiha?!_

* * *

Me: Hey everyone! I finally decided to update this story! ^_^ Yay! So please review and let me know what you think!

Sasuke: Who would think this was a good fic?

Itachi: People who enjoy watching you get beat up!

Sasuke: I hate you!

Itachi: Yeah what's new?

Me: Alright enough with the sibling squables you two!

Itachi/Sasuke:Yes Mother!

Me: Shut up!

* * *


	8. Healing

Sasuke lay on the floor beside the large bed, apparently asleep. Shackles and chains attached his wrists and ankles to the wrought iron bed frame. Blood streamed down his body from numerous gashes that could only have been made by a whip. _Well, I think I can guess where all the blood came from._ She thought grimly.

Walking over to the injured teen, she knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light shake. "Sasuke? Sasuke!"

The boy groaned slightly and his eyes opened. "Wha… Itachi?" he mumbled as he blinked, trying to clear his sleep blurred vision. Finally he was able to focus on her face and his eyes widened slightly. "Mistress?!" he exclaimed rather loudly.

Tsukiyo stifled him instantly by clamping her hand over his mouth. "Shhhh! No one knows I'm back and I'd rather it stayed that way, got it?"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion but he nodded and gave a muffled. "Hai." Tsukiyo released his mouth. "Why are you back?" he asked in a softer voice.

"I wanted to know what the heck was going on back here." She told him. "I knew something wasn't right with you."

Sasuke frowned. "How did you kno-"

Tsukiyo cut him off. "Sixth sense." She explained. Her eyes narrowed as she examined him. "What happened to you this time?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "Itachi." He replied.

Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. "I guessed that much!" she snapped. (She's still pretty harsh even if she is sort of concerned about him.) "What did he do to you? I can see he's been going a little crazy with the whip, but I sense that you've been under some mental pressure as well, now what happened?"

Sasuke sighed. "He showed me all of the memories I wish I could forget." He whispered.

Tsukiyo frowned. "The ones of the massacre?"

Sasuke nodded.

Tsukiyo looked him over again. He really looked bad. His face appeared gaunt and even paler than usual, the blood that literally covered his body only increasing the ashen effect. His eyes were even worse; they held a ghastly, haunted look within them. Though he hid it well enough, Tsukiyo could see that he was slowly breaking. Itachi knew just what to do to drive his little brother over the edge. Suddenly the collar about Sasuke's neck caught her eyes. "What is that?"

"Huh?" Sasuke asked in confusion. He saw that her gaze was directed to his collar and understood. "Oh, it's a shock collar." He explained.

Tsukiyo looked grim. "Itachi put it on you huh? Has he used it yet?"

Sasuke nodded. "Several times."

Tsukiyo cursed and called the elder Uchiha several names not fit for publication. Sasuke was inclined to agree but chose to keep silent. Tsukiyo probably didn't think anymore of him than she thought of Itachi, and he would rather not get any more beaten up than he was at the moment.

Tsukiyo looked at him and sighed. "I'm going to heal you Sasuke." She told him. His eyes widened and she added, "But you can't tell anyone that I was here. If you do, I'll kill you. I'll snap your neck before you have a chance to blink. Understood?"

Sasuke knew better than to doubt her word; if she said that she would kill him, she would. He nodded. "H-hai."

Tsukiyo formed several hand signs and her hands glowed pale green. Sasuke felt her chakra enter him and he felt his wounds healing.

When she finally finished, Tsukiyo drew back and eyed Sasuke. "How's that?"

Sasuke nodded and shifted slightly. "Better… thanks."

Tsukiyo frowned. He looked better physically, but his eyes still held that eerie look. "If you'll let me, I might be able to do something about your memories… but you'd have to let me inside your head."

Sasuke hesitated… "What would you do?" he questioned.

"I'd place a temporary shield about certain memories so that they wouldn't bother you so much." She told him.

Sasuke bit his lip. He didn't trust Tsukiyo, but he really wanted relief from all the mental torment. His dark eyes flicked back and forth with indecision. If he let Tsukiyo into his mind, she would have complete and total access to every thought and feeling he had ever had. Could he depend on her not to take advantage? He didn't feel that he could… she was too unpredictable. Did it really matter though? She already knew about his past and she could tell what he was thinking anytime she wanted to- heck! She probably knew what was going through his mind at this very moment. Sasuke sighed._ I have to let her; I just want to forget._ He looked up at her and nodded.

"You'll let me in?" She asked.

"Hai." He replied softly.

She placed her fingers to his temples and whispered some strange chant in a language that Sasuke didn't understand. He stiffened apprehensively as he felt her enter his mind…

Tsukiyo looked around Sasuke's mind. The instant she had entered it she had been nearly overwhelmed by the flow of emotional pain. She moved quickly over to the "memory" section. She began to look through the memory files for Sasuke's most painful memories. She was tempted, several times to take a peek at some of Sasuke's other, personal memories, but she stopped herself. _No. I will respect his privacy in this matter._ She resolved. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She accessed one of the files and was suddenly surrounded by gruesome and horrifying scenes of the Uchiha Massacre. Tsukiyo felt Sasuke shudder at the sight and quickly began to block out the scenes with her temporary shields. _"Calm down Sasuke." _She told him.

Sasuke took several deep breaths and tried to relax himself. "I-I'm trying." He gasped. But it was hard. Though Tsukiyo appeared to be doing her best to respect his privacy, she still had to bring up his most terrible memories in order to block them. Sasuke found it extremely difficult to remain calm while watching scenes from his worst nightmare flashing before his eyes.

"_It's okay Sasuke, settle down, there's only three more." _Tsukiyo's voice came through clearly and firmly, yet with a soothing tone to it.

Sasuke nodded and bit his lip as the final scenes flashed before his eyes.

"_That's it… all done."_ Tsukiyo left his mind and returned to her own. "How do you feel now?"

Sasuke sighed. "Okay I guess."

Tsukiyo nodded. "The shields should last about five days, I made them extra strong so they should be able to hold up against Itachi." She gestured to his shock collar. "I can't do anything about that right now. I've got to be getting back."

Sasuke looked at her closely. "You've been in Konoha haven't you?" he asked.

"How could you tell?" She questioned.

Sasuke nodded to the bracelet on her wrist. "That's Sakura's isn't it?"

"Hai."

He nodded. "Why did Orochimaru send you there?"

Tsukiyo shrugged. "Just a routine check to see how strong the Konoha nin have grown."

Sasuke sighed. "Have… have you seen Naruto?"

Tsukiyo nodded.

"How is he?" Sasuke inquired.

"He's doing well. He's very hyper but quite strong at the same time. He misses you I think." Tsukiyo told him.

Sasuke nodded and looked away. "He shouldn't. He should just forget me… they all should."

Tsukiyo frowned. "Why do you say that?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Never mind."

"SASUKE!!!!" The two teens jumped as a familiar voice rang out.

"Itachi!" Sasuke whispered nervously.

"I have to go. I'll see you in a few days." Tsukiyo told him.

Sasuke nodded. "Okay, uh… thanks."

Tsukiyo nodded. "No problem. Bye." She formed a hand sign and disappeared.

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke's head snapped around as Itachi strode into the room. "H-hai Itachi Sama?"

Itachi walked over, grabbed a hold of Sasuke by his hair and lifted him up. He unlocked Sasuke's shackles, with the exception of the ones that connected his ankles. "Come on."

"Where?" Sasuke inquired.

"I want to see how far you've come since we saw each other last. You're going to spar with Kabuto." Itachi said in a matter of fact way.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "I… I can't!"

"You can, and you will!" Itachi commanded.

Sasuke shook his head. "No! I-"

_**SMACK!!!!!!!!!**_ Itachi backhanded the younger boy hard across the face. "You will! Or I'll kill you! Got it?"

Sasuke bit his lip and nodded. _I keep hearing that threat a lot lately. _He mused. _I never realized that so many people wanted me dead. I hope Itachi won't push me to fight Kabuto to the death… I don't stand a chance with this seal on my head…_

_

* * *

_

Tsukiyo appeared back at the training grounds and managed to slip back into the group, unnoticed. Or nearly that is…

"Tsukiko, where did you disappear to?" Sakura inquired.

"Oh, I had to run over to the shop across the street to use their bathroom, Tsukiyo replied, quickly thinking up an excuse.

Sakura nodded. "Oh, too bad, you missed a great spar. Neji and Lee can really go at it."

Tsukiyo nodded absently. Her mind was elsewhere. _I wonder how much longer I'll have to stay here. My assignment is to find out about their fighting skills- which I've done- and to spy on the Naruto._ She glanced at the Kyuubi vessel, who was currently in the midst of his spar with Kiba. _I'll see if I can get him alone and talk to him. Once I've done that, there's nothing to prevent me from returning to Orochimaru's. I don't want to leave Sasuke alone with Itachi any longer than I have to. Itachi's a cruel and ruthless sadist…_

_**And that concerns you how?**_Her inner self inquired.

_It concerns me because Orochimaru gave him to me to be my slave and therefore he is my responsibility._ She retorted.

_**Are you even remotely aware of the fact that most slave owners beat their slaves to the point of exhaustion if not death? Why should you treat him any better than his fellow humans would?  
**_

_I'd rather not sink to the level that the humans have, thank you very much! Just because they treat one another like dirt doesn't mean I have to. Their greed will be their downfall. You know very well that Anthro's were created to help bring about peace, not to cause more harm. _

Oh… and that's working soooo well, isn't it?

_Shut up!_

Tsukiyo rolled her eyes. The whole "split personality" thing could be really annoying at time.

* * *

Naruto waved goodbye to his friends and headed down the street towards his apartment when a voice from behind caused him to pause and glance over his shoulder. "Eh? Oh, hey Tsukiko!"

The said girl smiled. "Hey Naruto."

"What's up?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Not much, I was just looking for someone to hang with… Sakura had to go to some family thing." She waved her hand in the direction of Sakura's home.

Naruto nodded. "Okay, where do ya wanna go?"

Tsukiyo shrugged. "I don't know… I'm new here, remember?"

Naruto grinned and one could envision the light bulb going off in his head. "Hey! How about I give you a personal tour of Konoha?"

Tsukiyo grinned. "Sounds great!" She followed the blond as he started off down the street, rambling all the way. Tsukiyo shook her head. She didn't know why, perhaps it was, in a way, because he was part fox, but somehow just being around the kitsune made her feel calm and relaxed. Tsukiyo was very slowly, learning that not all humans had as dark of hearts as she had originally believed.

* * *

Sasuke stood opposite of Kabuto desperately trying to come up with a way he could defeat the boy… but it was impossible. Sasuke cast an uneasy glance towards the small audience that had recently assembled to watch their spar. It consisted of Orochimaru, Itachi, Sasori, and Kisame. Keiji and a couple of other less significant guys were loitering in the corner, waiting for Sasuke and Kabuto to begin. Sasuke recalled having heard tales of the amphitheaters in Rome. It was said that prisoners were forced to fight trained warriors and vicious beasts to the death in the colosseum for the amusement of the audience. Sasuke felt he could relate. The only difference here was that he didn't know whether or not this fight would be to the death or not.

"Get ready!" Orochimaru's voice rang out. Both boys fell into stances.

"Get ssssset!" Muscles were taught and concentration was intense as the adversaries awaited the signal to begin…

"Go!"

Sasuke lunged at Kabuto. He knew that his only shot to keep from getting killed was to keep Kabuto on the defensive- a difficult task without his chakura. Kabuto's defense was easily his weakest point.

The two of them went at it back and fourth, but it didn't take long for Kabuto to gain the edge. He had a clear advantage over the Uchiha now. Sasuke frowned. There was no possible way that he could last long against Kabuto.

The spectators gathered at the side of the room began to shout out heckles and jeers. Itachi shouted the loudest of all of them, taunting him as he tried frantically to evade Kabuto's attacks. _This isn't a spar; this is a circus act!_ Sasuke thought. _They're just making fun of me._ _They know I don't stand a chance here._ As if to prove his thoughts correct, Kabuto's foot connected with his abdomen sending him flying into the wall. Sasuke wheezed and coughed up some blood. _Not good!_

Itachi smirked. "What's wrong Sasuke?" he called.

Sasuke didn't look at him as he climbed to his feet. Kabuto wore a gloating expression. "He's enjoying this far too much!" Sasuke grumbled under his breath.

"Come on slave!" Kabuto jeered. "What's the matter?"

Sasuke lunged at him but wasn't fast enough. Kabuto grasped his arm and twisted it behind his back. With his other arm he caught the Uchiha boy in a headlock, choking him. Sasuke managed to free himself by ramming his elbow into the white haired boy's ribs. Kabuto grunted in pain and let go.

Sasuke spun about and backed away slightly. He eyed his opponent, trying to come up with a way to beat him. _This is impossible!_ He realized grimly. _There's no way I can defeat him._

Kabuto had recovered from the blow to his abdomen. He growled and launched himself at Sasuke, delivering a torrent of blows faster that the Uchiha could see them coming.

Slowly, Kabuto backed him into a corner. Sasuke realized with a jolt of panic that he was trapped. He tried to push his way out, but Kabuto punched him in the gut and grabbed his throat, lifting him a foot off the ground by his neck. Sasuke struggled as Kabuto tightened his grip, cutting off his air supply.

"Checkmate, Sasuke _kun_!" Kabuto smirked triumphantly. He squeezed tighter. Sasuke struggled harder. "Let…go!"

"Why?" Kabuto grinned.

Sasuke glanced over at Itachi. The older Uchiha smirked. "What's the matter Sasuke?"

Sasuke wheezed trying desperately to get some much needed air into his lungs.

Kabuto turned to look at Itachi. "I don't think he can fight any longer… shall I finish him?"

Itachi smirked and Sasuke felt a wave of panic engulf him. He knew that look, it was the expression Itachi always wore when he was about to destroy something; it was, a look of triumphant elation.

_Oh Lord I'm DEAD!!!!!_

* * *

**Me: Hey! What did everybody think?**

**Sasuke: That was stupid! Why do you enjoy tormenting me?**

**Itachi: Because you're fun to torment.**

**Sasuke: I am not!**

**Tsukiyo: Denial!**

**Me: Okay! Enough already!**

**Sasuke: Review so that I can hopefully find a way to get away from Itachi!**


	9. Meeting Daichi

Itachi opened his mouth to reply when a firm voice rang out. "No."

All eyes turned to see Tsukiyo enter the room.

"Wha- Tsukiyo?!" Kabuto exclaimed in surprise.

Sasuke was no less surprised but relieved nonetheless. Any chance he had of being allowed to live rested with her. He watched her tensely.

"No." she repeated, her attention directed at Kabuto. "You will not finish him. Not without my permission." She turned her cold, catlike eye on Itachi. "And _you_ have no right to give him permission. Sasuke is _my _slave, not yours!"

"Of coursssssse he issssss my dear." Orochimaru hissed. "I'm sssssure Itachi never intended to let Kabuto kill Ssssssassssuke."

Sasuke was inclined to disagree and Tsukiyo appeared to share his opinion. "I should hope not Orochimaru sama. I should have been very disappointed to have returned and discovered my slave had died." Her voice was cold and sharp as a newly crafted, steel blade.

A flash of irritation flickered across Itachi's features. It was gone instantly and he replaced it with a sickeningly amiable smile. "That is to be expected, Tsukiyo san. I too would be irked in that situation."

"Hn." Was the only reply Tsukiyo gave before she turned back to Kabuto. "Let him go."

Kabuto instantly released his hold on Sasuke, letting him drop to the floor. Sasuke inhaled shakily. _That was too close!_ He thought.

Tsukiyo eyed him momentarily before turning to Orochimaru. "I have fulfilled my mission. I will give you a report a bit later. For now, I will retire to my room as I have a bit of a headache. Good evening gentlemen." She walked over to Sasuke and pulled him up by his hand saying, "Come on Uchiha." She then turned on her heel and marched out with Sasuke in tow.

~ * ~

Tsukiyo stalked into her sitting room and slammed the door. Sasuke flinched. "I swear!" she exclaimed suddenly, causing him to jump slightly. "I'm gone for a couple days and everything goes insane!" She pointed to the sofa. "Sit!"

He did so and she shot him a surprised look. "You're actually cooperating?" He bit his lip and she smirked. "A couple of days with Itachi had it's effects I see." She remarked. He remained silent and a small sigh escaped her. "It was pretty bad wasn't it?"

He glanced up at her and shrugged. She walked over to him and slipped the shock collar off of his neck. He sighed and rubbed the red mark on his neck, caused by the tight collar.

"Thanks."

"For what?" She asked carelessly as she tossed the offending collar into a nearby trashcan.

"For… for not letting them… kill me." came the quiet reply.

She looked over at him and frowned. "Would Itachi really have let him kill you?"

Sasuke nodded. "I have no doubts."

She sighed and shook her head. "You humans, you're a bunch of morons! Here you have the chance to live totally wonderful lives, but no, you go and throw it all away in exchange for a life filled with bitterness and hate! And you can't even keep it in your own race; you have to go and make everyone else's lives a living nightmare as well!" she spat.

Sasuke looked at her in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? You live the same kind of life."

She rolled her eyes. "I live the same kind of life as you do, but not by choice." She told him. "If I had my way, I'd live with my people and stay as far away from you people as possible! The only reason I don't is so that I can hopefully save what is left of my people, and perhaps someday, revive my race."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You mean… there are still some Anthros alive… besides you of course?"

Tsukiyo sighed. "A few. But it won't be that way for long if I can't accomplish my mission."

Sasuke stayed silent, mulling over this new information. Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.

Tsukiyo glanced at him over her shoulder. "When was the last time you had something to eat Uchiha?"

"Not since you left." Came his reply.

Tsukiyo whirled about. "You're kidding!"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Well, the cook is probably asleep by now." She mused. She groaned in irritation. "Come with me." She grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him to his feet.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't ask questions, just follow me!" she snapped.

He nodded and followed her into the bedroom. Sasuke glanced about in silent curiosity. _This girl sure seems to like depressing colors…_ he thought as he took in the (in his opinion) gloomy and dismal decor.

Tsukiyo told him to sit on the bed, then knelt beside an old trunk. She opened it and pulled out a box of crackers, some cheese and some jerky. Sasuke's mouth watered. He was ravenous!

She tossed to the victuals to him. "Eat." He needed no second urging. "I'm going to go talk to Orochimaru. You stay here; do not get off this bed until I return. And don't be snooping around in any of my stuff, remember, I can hear your thoughts."

Sasuke nodded and she left.

_(Half an hour later…)_

Sasuke glanced up as the door swung open and Tsukiyo entered. She walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Now," she said firmly as she took her place beside him. "Tell me what happened while I was gone, and don't you dare leave out a single detail!"

Sasuke began to relate all that had gone on during the period of her absence. Tsukiyo listened carefully to his words, quietly processing the information.

"…And then they had me fight Kabuto and he started to strangle me and that was when you came in." Sasuke finished finally.

Tsukiyo nodded. "I see…" She said thoughtfully. She frowned. "I'm leaving again on another mission tomorrow Uchiha." She said suddenly.

Sasuke's head shot up. _What? No! If she leaves I'm a dead man for sure!_ "But-"

She smacked him lightly on the cheek. "Don't interrupt me!" she glared at him. "As I was saying, I'm leaving on a mission, but this time, the mission is for my own purposes. Orochimaru and I have an agreement, that I will be his apprentice, but I can leave at any time to seek out my quarry." She sighed. "And as you can't seem to stay out of trouble for even a day, I'm going to take you with me."

He looked at her in surprise. "Me?"

She nodded. "I don't have the time to keep checking on you, so it'll be easier if I just take you along. But don't get any ideas about running, because I'll have my eye on you and plus, Kabuto and Keiji will be coming along as well." Her voice grew threatening and she looked at him harshly. "I'll warn you right now, this mission is of utmost importance to me. If you mess it up, I swear I'll make the remainder of your life hell! I'll _give_ you to Itachi. Got it?"

Sasuke flinched at the idea of belonging to Itachi. "Hai."

Tsukiyo nodded and eyed him contemplatively. "I'll have to find something for you to wear, what you have on now will never do." It was true, Itachi's whip had reduced Sasuke's already torn clothes into nothing more than ragged strips that could barely be considered cloth.

"I'll have something by the time we leave tomorrow morning, for now, you should get some sleep." She told him. "Come on."

He stood and followed her into the sitting room and over to the cage. She opened the door and he stepped inside, hearing it clang shut behind him. Tsukiyo locked it securely then turned and went back into her room. "Night Uchiha!" she called over her shoulder as the oaken door swung shut…

~ * ~

Sasuke awoke the next morning to see Tsukiyo standing over him holding a bundle of something black. He glanced at the window and saw that the sun had not even come up yet.

"Come on, get up Uchiha." Tsukiyo snapped impatiently. "We don't have all year."

Sasuke climbed to his feet and eyed the bundle in her arms. "What's all that?"

"Your clothes." Came the reply. "Come here, I need to be sure that this fits."

He sat down on the sofa and she proceeded to sort through the articles of clothes she had selected. "Lets see…" She handed him a long sleeved black shirt, a pair of black pants, socks and ninja sandals. She pointed to the bathroom. "Go try those on."

He did so and reappeared three minutes later wearing the clothes. She eyed him reflectively. "That'll do I guess." She said. "Here." She tossed him a black hoodie, a pair of gloves and a belt. "Put those on."

"What is with your obsession with black?" Sasuke inquired as he slipped the hoodie over his head.

Tsukiyo shrugged. "I just like it. It's simple, serious, and not overly obvious." She replied.

Sasuke pulled on the gloves and fastened the belt about his waist. "I suppose I don't get any kunai or shuriken or anything like that?"

"Correct." She affirmed. "If something happens, just stay close to me. Oh! I almost forgot…" She held up a strange device that resembled a wristband of sorts.

"What's that?" he asked, eyeing the device suspiciously.

"This," she said as she snapped it onto his wrist. "Is a tracking device so that I know your whereabouts at all times. And don't even think about trying to take it off. If you do, it will electrocute you just like the shock collar did unless I deactivate it first." She looked him firmly in the eyes. "I won't shock you if you are obedient; but if you aren't, I will do what I must."

He nodded, showing that he understood. He had learned to be very cautious around Tsukiyo; she was only half human and he could never predict how she would react to any situation. And since the seal prevented him from being able to fight against her, his only way to not be in a constant state of torture was to stay in her good graces.

She nodded. "Okay then, let's go."

~ * ~

Sasuke swatted yet _another_ fly away from his face and wiped the perspiration out of his eyes. Behind him, Keiji prodded him along with some stick he had picked up. "Keep moving kid."

Sasuke cursed quietly in order to keep from being overheard by Kabuto who was walking just ahead of him. At the front of their mini procession, walked Tsukiyo. She was completely oblivious to Kabuto and Keiji's remarks as she made her way through the dense underbrush.

Sasuke frowned, He had no clue where they were, as a matter of fact he was pretty sure Kabuto and Keiji didn't know where they were either. Tsukiyo was the only one who knew where they were going or how to get back. One thing Sasuke would say for the jungle they were now traipsing through though, it made the forest of death from the chunin exams look like a simple walk in the park!

Sasuke kept his eyes on Tsukiyo's back and ignored the jibes and taunts of the Kabuto and Keiji. Once in a while, Tsukiyo would tell them to shut the heck up, but most of the time, she too simply ignored them.

Sasuke sighed, his feet hurt and his head ached from the humidity. _I really am weak._ He thought miserably.

Tsukiyo halted abruptly and held up her hand for silence. Everyone froze, watching her. Her piercing, cat-like eye scanned the forest. "You guys stay here. I'm going forward."

"But, we don't want to stay here!" Kabuto protested. "It's dangerous!"

"The farther in you go from here, the greater the danger grows." Tsukiyo told him. "If you want to die, then by all means, come along."

Keiji and Kabuto exchanged looks. "We'll stay."

Tsukiyo nodded. "Sasuke, you are coming with me." Sasuke nodded and stepped forward to follow her.

"Why are you taking him?" Keiji asked.

"That is none of your concern." She replied. "Stay here. We will return for you in a couple of days."

She motioned to Sasuke. "Let's go Uchiha." Sasuke followed her deeper into the depths of the jungle.

~ * ~

Sasuke gazed about him. He was sitting on the forest floor next to a crackling fire. Tsukiyo sat across from him, her sharp eyes gazing out into the night.

"Um… Mistress?" Sasuke cautiously ventured.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'yes?'

"Um… I was wondering… why are we here?" he asked.

Tsukiyo frowned. "We're here in order to find someone so that I can accomplish my purpose."

Sasuke nodded. "I know, but… why are we _here_? And who is it that we are supposed to find?"

Tsukiyo eyed him, as if weighing how much she should reveal to him. "I suppose I could tell you a little." She mused. "We are meeting someone by the name of Daichi. He lives in this forest."

Sasuke glanced about. "These aren't the greatest of living conditions."

Tsukiyo shrugged, "It's not a problem for him."

"So, why do you need to find him?" Sasuke inquired.

Tsukiyo sighed and held up her pendant. "You see this? This is an ancient charm that has been passed down through my race for generations. It holds unimaginable power. Daichi knows much of the ancient times. He may be able to tell me the secret to unlocking the pendant. If he can, it will greatly benefit my people." She explained.

Sasuke nodded. "Oh. So where is he?"

Tsukiyo shrugged. "It's hard to say. He roams the forest, never staying in one place for long."

"Then how will we find him?" Sasuke asked.

"He will find us." She replied. "Undoubtedly, he already knows we're here. He will come to us when the time is right. Now go to sleep, we must rise early tomorrow."

Sasuke wanted to ask her more, but he simply nodded and slid into his sleeping bag, while Tsukiyo got into her own.

"Night Uchiha." Tsukiyo called softly.

"Goodnight." Came Sasuke's whispered reply…

~ * ~

Sasuke was jolted awake suddenly in the middle of the night. He lurched up into a sitting position. "Wha-?" a hand was clamped over his mouth.

"Put a sock in it Uchiha!" Tsukiyo's voice hissed in his ear.

Sasuke relaxed slightly and Tsukiyo removed her hand. She motioned for him to be silent and stood up, her eyes penetrating the brushwood that surrounded them. She seemed to be searching for something.

Sasuke stood behind her, watching. His senses, though alert, could not compare with Tsukiyo's and he depended on her for any warning of danger.

Tsukiyo inhaled sharply and her eyes blazed with a strange look.

"What is it?" Sasuke inquired.

"He's here." Came her reply.

Sasuke didn't need to ask whom she was speaking of. A chill ran up his spine. Daichi had arrived! Sasuke glanced about, looking for any sign of a human form. There was none to be seen. "Where is he?"

Suddenly, a deep, rumbling sounded. "I'm right here, young human."

A massive black shadow dropped down directly in front of him and Sasuke let out a yelp of shock and jumped back, tripping over his sleeping bag and falling to the ground with an, "oof!"

Sasuke looked up and gasped. A large creature towered above him, one that was anything but human. In fact, the creature resembled a black jaguar more than anything else, but was at least three times the size of an average jaguar. Blazing, golden eyes gazed fiercely down on Sasuke. The full moon shone down upon the creature's shiny black coat, emphasizing the toned muscles of his sleek form, which flexed impressively with every graceful movement he made. His claws were sharp as daggers and his razor-like fangs gleamed like white blades. He had a mane, somewhat akin to that of a horse but shorter and shaggier, which was a reddish color like that of smoldering embers, and seven intertwining tales, four black, and three a deep crimson color. A set of golden wings sprouted from his back, giving him a surreal appearance.

"W-W-Who ar-re y-you?" Sasuke's voice shook.

"I am Daichi, Protector and Defender of the Great Forest." Came the powerful reply.

Sasuke looked at Tsukiyo with wide eyes. "_He's _Daichi?!" he asked incredulously.

Tsukiyo nodded. "Yes."

Sasuke looked back at the Forest Protector. "Uhhh…ummm…"

"You have much anger in you Human boy… and much fear as well. It shows through your eyes." The creature said. "Am I so terrible that you can not even look upon me without terror and hatred?"

Sasuke frowned. "Had I seen you a month ago I should have said no; but lately it seems that everyone is out to kill me. I have no choice but to be cautious and as for my anger, it is well warranted."

Daichi nodded understandingly. "Yes, you have many enemies, though not so many as I. But not _all_ wish you dead, if that were so, you would not be alive this moment." He motioned with his paw towards Tsukiyo.

Sasuke shook his head. "She hates me too."

Daichi looked at him. "Then how is it that you are speaking this night? Tell me young Human, if you hated someone, would you go out of your way to keep them from dying?"

Sasuke frowned. "Well… probably not… wait- how do you know about that?"

Daichi sighed. "There is much I know." He turned to look at Tsukiyo. "Ahh… a chosen Anthro." He said. "The one in a century."

Sasuke shot him a confused look. "Huh?"

Tsukiyo ignored him. Her eyes were focused on the golden ones of Daichi. "I have come to you, seeking your aid." She said.

He nodded. "I know; I have been expecting you."

Tsukiyo suddenly dropped to her knees.

_Whoa! What the heck?_ Sasuke thought.

"Please Forest Protector, I beg you to tell me what I must do to access the power of the pendant given to my people by the Ancient creatures like yourself as a gift."

Sasuke had never seen Tsukiyo look this desperate. As a matter of fact, he had never seen her look concerned over anything at all. He sat quietly watching in amazement.

Daichi stepped forward. "Indeed. I will tell you what must be done, but it is up to you to accomplish the task."

Tsukiyo nodded. "I understand."

"You must go to the _Tsuchi no furui o chuushin._" Came the reply.

"The center of the ancient earth?" Tsukiyo repeated. "Where is that?"

"It is about three days travel from here." Daichi replied. "I will take you and the boy there. Once you reach your destination, you must enter the ruins of the ancient stronghold of the creatures of old."

"What will I find there?" Tsukiyo inquired. "Will you come with me?"

"No, you must discover for yourself, the secret of the Ancient world, you must find the _Hi no Kihaku. _Only once you have captured it, will you be able to unlock the power of the pendant._"_

"_Hi no Kihaku…" _Tsukiyo repeated thoughtfully. "The Soul's Flame."

Daichi nodded. "Hai. Come, we will go."

Tsukiyo nodded and began to gather up her belongings. Sasuke would have preferred to get a few more hours of sleep, but, remembering Tsukiyo's threat to give him to Itachi, should he cause any trouble, he followed the cat-girl's example and began gathering his own possessions.

"We are ready." Tsukiyo said at last.

"Keep up with me young ones." The creature said as took off into the forest.

Tsukiyo and Sasuke sped along after him. Tsukiyo's feline eyes permitted her the luxury of night vision, and her advanced ears allowed her to pick up what little sound Daichi made. By this, she was able to follow him, her graceful, catlike movements allowing her to maintain a speed similar to Daichi's.

Sasuke on the other hand, did not posses these traits; his Sharingan was the only thing he possessed that allowed him to see where he should go. Unfortunately, due to his weakened state, he was unable to keep up with the fast pace, set by Tsukiyo and the Forest Protector and he soon fell behind so far that he had to strain to catch a glimpse of them. So intent, was he on keeping them in sight that he failed to notice a root sticking up from the forest floor, and he tripped, falling flat on his face.

Sasuke picked himself up and glanced about urgently for any sign of his traveling companions. There was no sign of either of them. "Tsu- I mean Mistress…? Forest Protector…?" He whirled suddenly as he heard a sound behind him. "Mistress?" a bit of nervousness swelled up inside of him. Tsukiyo had said that this place was dangerous and in his present state, he didn't have much chance of defending himself. "Mistress… is that you?"

Sasuke reached out and pulled aside a large branch that was blocking his view. The Raven teen felt his blood run cold as he found himself gazing into a large, multifaceted, orange eye. That definitely was not Tsukiyo! "W-Wha…?!" The owner of the eye who suddenly uttered a blood-curdling shriek cut his startled exclamation short.

* * *

**Me: Bwa ha ha ha ha! Cliffhanger! I know, I'm evil!**

**Orochimaru: As if we didn't already know that!**

**Kabuto: Where's Sasuke?**

**Tsukiyo: He's out back fighting Itachi.**

**Me: Psssht! You mean getting beaten by Itachi!**

**Tsukiyo: Yeah basically.**

**Orochimaru: Please review so that Midnight will update!**


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